Sanguine Nectar
by lazerbear7
Summary: Short story about an incident involving vampires, and our favorite team of Huntsmen.
1. Chapter 1

It had been several days since Ruby had been shown the vibrancy of the night, but she would've given it up for nothing. She knew what she was, at least to some extent, although she had used to think creatures like her "fairy tales". She had become a vampire, or at least, something very vampire-like. Four of her teeth near the front of the white rows had grown sharp. So sharp that she could prick her own finger with the slightest pressure applied to them. There had been other changes, too. Her body was faster and stronger, and her mind was as well. Her grades had gone up the last few days, as she found that she could recall information without almost any effort.

Her transformation didn't come without its detriments, though. She hated going outside now during the day. The sun beat down on her all the time, burning her retinas and searing her flesh. In just minutes, blisters had formed on her pale skin that had been exposed to the bright light. Those wounds had healed in minutes though, and as soon as she got out of the sun, she felt much better.

If she tried to think about what had brought her to such a condition, she found only headaches and black spots. She couldn't remember what had happened. All that resided in her memory about becoming what her current self was something about a dark alleyway, a shrouded figure, nothing that actually gave her any clues as to what had happened. She couldn't say that she cared, though. She knew what she was now, and that was all that mattered. She had her hood, and could protect herself from the sun long enough to do whatever she needed to.

There was one more thing that had changed, but she didn't quite know what it was. She no longer felt the urge to eat, and apparently suffered no ill effects from it. She did have a burning hunger for something, but she didn't know what. She had tried to eat a few small morsels, but she ended up having to choke them down to avoid suspicion. It was like her body didn't even consider it food. It was a battle to force it down her throat, but she had managed.

The hunger was worst when she was with her friends. It was like she was only feet from a source of food while starving, but there was nothing that she could see.

She found herself now in her team's room, sitting on her bed alone. Everyone else had gone out, and she had chosen to stay behind. The curtains were closed tightly, not letting a single sliver of light into the room, and the electric lights buzzed slightly as they illuminated the room.

Ruby was looking down at a book, trying to ignore the hunger as best she could, when the door opened, and Yang came into the room. Ruby looked up, surprised, and waited for her other teammates to follow. They didn't, and Yang stepped towards her bed, a broad smile on her face, as it always was. "Hey Rubes!" she spoke in a chipper voice "Did you have fun while we were out?"

Ruby leaned forward on her bed, top bunk making the angle of the door difficult to see around, and eyed it suspiciously. She couldn't hear anything from the hall, and there were no visual signs that anyone was out there. Yang noticed the way that she peered, and turned in an attempt to see what she was looking at. A brief second of silence settled over the room, in which Yang appeared to think about what her sister was looking at, before she said, "Oh, the door! Right, sorry, I forgot."

Yang walked back over to the door, and closed it quickly. Upon doing this, she walked back to the center of the room, put her hands on her hips, and looked around the room. Apparently it wasn't quite what she expected, because she snorted through her nose and said, "How can you stand being cooped up like this? You've been here for days! I feel like I'm going nuts already." Ruby was about to make a comment about how she preferred to stay indoors, when Yang started to walk towards the windows, reaching her hands out for the curtains.

Ruby practically flew from her cross-legged position, leaping down from her bed and hitting the ground with a running step that placed her in-between her sister and the blinds. She and her sister ended up facing each other, Ruby spreading her arms across the blinds to keep them in place. Yang looked shocked at Ruby's sudden movement, and she looked back at her sister with eyes that plead to be kept away from the vicious star. "Please, Yang, don't…"

She felt a hot pressure growing on the back on her head and, although she knew what it was, her first instinct was to look and check that she was right. Her head turned, and her eyes met with the light.

In spite of all the strengths she had gained, she hadn't been prepared for the pain that erupted from her dark silver eyes. Everything disappeared in a flash of white, and she screamed, throwing herself back away from the window as hard as she could.

Most of her senses were distracted from the pain, but she was sure that she felt herself collide with Yang, and the both of them tumble to the ground. Her own scream faded as she started to curl into a ball, panicking about what had just happened, and Yang's voice started to cascade into her ears. A flurry of questions like, "Are you alright?", "What happened?", and, "Ruby, can you hear me?" hit her like a sack of bricks, but she was too busy feeling her eyelids, trying to determine if her eyes had been burned out of their sockets.

They were still there, and this knowledge calmed her significantly. She took a few deep breaths, and spoke as calmly as she could out to the white void that surrounded her. "Yang, are you still there?"

Her sister responded instantly, boots thudding a few times before Ruby heard the noise of her cloths shifting as she knelt down. "Yeah Ruby, I'm right here. What the hell just happened?" Ruby felt a few soft currents of air pass over her face, and knew that Yang was waving her hand. "Can you see anything?"

Ruby shook her head, and felt Yang's hands on her back. "Come on, let's get you up." Yang's fingers closed around her cloak and her shoulders, and she felt herself lifted back to her feet. She did her best to cooperate, lifting what of her weight that she could, and trying to step in the direction that she was being led. Yang did her best to guide her to her own bed, below Blake's, and sat her down on its side.

As Ruby felt her sister's strong hands make sure that she was steady, the ever-present hunger that Ruby felt grew larger, almost unbearable. It was like a physical hole had formed in her stomach, and she desperately needed to fill it. She didn't know what she needed, but she knew that Yang had it.

She started to act a certain way, almost subconsciously, in a way that would bring Yang close. Tears started to leak from her eyes, and she started to breathe heavy again, starting to cry. She didn't feel particularly bad, other than the swiftly fading pain in her eyes, but it felt good to cry, and she could feel Yang getting closer.

Yang put an arm around Ruby's back, and squeezed her tightly, saying, "Do you want me to go and get help? I mean, I could call someone, or-"

Her voice was cut off as Ruby shook her blind head and said, "No, Yang, you have to stay with me. What if I need something? I don't want to be taken to the nurse, or to a hospital. I'll be too scared if I do."

She heard Yang give a shaky sigh, then felt her pull her body into a tighter hug. "What's going on? You've been acting weird for a while now, and the others are getting worried. You haven't been eating well, or getting outside much, or been nearly as happy as you usually are. Everyone's…" she stopped and sighed, then continued, "Everyone is really worried. Even JNPR has noticed that something is up."

Ruby put her arms around her sister, and nuzzled her face into one of Yang's broad shoulders. "I'm sorry. I should have told you guys earlier." Her face started to glide across the fabric of Yang's clothes, searching for skin, the hunger within her guiding her muscles and mind to what she knew was relief. At the same time, her arms worked slowly up Yang's back improving her grip on her sister. "See, I think something happened to me, but I was really scared to say it."

She felt Yang's body tense, and her sister held on to her a little tighter. She spoke in a worried voice, and pulled her face away from over Ruby's shoulder, looking at her from arm's length. "Ruby, what happened? Please, you can tell me anything."

Ruby knew that, but she had to tend to her own needs first. If she didn't, she would die, she was sure of it. The ache was starting to become excruciating, and she felt herself start to become faint. If she didn't do something now...

Her hand met the roots of Yang's hair on the back of her head, and she said in as controlled a manner as she could manage, "I know, Yang, but it would be so much easier to show you…" Yang made a questioning noise, but she didn't have time to ask anything. Ruby pulled her head towards her, and opened her mouth, bearing her teeth in a way that felt natural. Her lips lifted past the sharp points of her teeth, and she thrust her head forward at where she knew Yang's neck was.

Her fangs were the first to touch Yang's flesh, and Ruby could feel them plunge into the soft skin and vein as her momentum carried the rest of her mouth into her sister's neck, For a brief moment, Ruby worried about why she had done this, and what effect it would have. Surely her teeth were sharp enough to do some major damage.

As the first second passed, and a spurt of fluid rushed into her mouth, she forgot about those concerns. The blood didn't taste bitter or metallic like it normally did, but sweet and nourishing. Ruby felt the hole inside of her start to fill as she swallowed down the first mouthful, and she eagerly drew another, sucking on the two perforations as hard as she could manage.

By the time all this had happened, Yang was just starting to get a basic grasp of the situation she was in, and was pushing against Ruby in an attempt to remove her. Ruby was strong, though, and her grip was like iron around Yang's hair and back. She swallowed another mouthful, and noticed that her eyesight was beginning to return. She could see Yang's golden hair, but couldn't make out individual strands, or see anything beyond that. Everything else was far too blurry.

Yang shouted as loud as she could, "Ruby, what are you doing? Get off me!" but her sister stayed firmly in place, drawing another sweet mouthful. The older girl had been in more than a few fights, and she knew that she was in a very bad position. Not only was she going to be bleeding heavily if she got her sister off, but there was also no guarantee that she would be able to do that. Ruby was strong, somehow even stronger than her. She hated to do something violent, but there was obviously something very wrong with her sister.

Yang's knuckles dug into Ruby's gut as a punch bearing all the force that she could muster at such short notice. Ruby spluttered, and blood spewed in all directions as air was forced from the girl's lungs, but there was no reaction beyond that. She felt Ruby's teeth shift in her neck, and cried out again as pain started to erupt from the wound for a second time. This time it was not so intense, though, and Yang thought she could feel a strange numbing feeling spreading from her sister's bite.

It took another moment for Yang to build up the strength for another blow, during which she could feel the pressure from her sister's constant sucking dissipate for a moment as she gulped again, than continue. A distant ringing sound started to buzz in Yang's ears, and her body started to feel heavy. She curled her fingers into as tight a fist as she could make, and brought it into the side of Ruby's head as hard as she could.

It didn't get Ruby off of her, but it did appear to stun her. That was enough, as Yang then brought her other hand up and hit it flat against Ruby's face, doing her best to push her away. Ruby's grip was strong, but she wasn't able to keep her mouth on Yang's neck any longer. The two separated, and Yang moved her hand from Ruby's neck to her throat.

There was something very wrong with Ruby. Her eyes, instead of being the usual dull grey color, were almost glowing a deep red in the artificial light. While the face was familiar, the expression on it was nothing like the girl that she had known growing up. Instead of gentle and kind, it was vicious and animalistic. Yang didn't know what had changed her like that, but what she did know was that she needed help. Badly.

A jet of warm fluid falling on her arm reminded her of the dire situation, and her mind snapped back into combat mode. Without Ruby at her neck, she would have a little more time, and be able to move a little more freely. Maybe that was all she needed. Her eyes flicked to the sides, trying to see what she could of Ruby's grip on her. One arm was high, going over her shoulder, almost around her neck, and the other was in her hair. There was no easy way out, except…

Yang whipped her head forward, feeling the hair disconnect from her scalp, but fighting the pain. She brought Ruby closer as she did so, and the thick of her forehead connected with the bridge of Ruby's nose, resulting in a loud crack.

This had the desired effect, and Ruby's body went limp, the alien eyes in her skull rolling up before her eyelids fluttered shut. Unceremoniously, Yang stood, and dumped her sister on the floor, putting both hands to her neck in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. One side of her body was thoroughly soaked now, and her rapid heartbeat was only serving to expel her precious lifeblood faster. She tried her best to calm down, and started to walk towards the door.

She didn't make it two steps before the ringing in her head had grown to an enormous roar, and she found it almost impossible to keep her balance. Her thoughts dulled as well, and she was unable to focus on anything. Her feet carried her for a few more staggering, unsteady steps, before her body thudded against the floor, and she could feel herself drifting away.

She didn't give up yet, though, and tried to claw her way to the door. Her body was too heavy to drag, however, and she was too breathless to continue trying.

Her eyes drifted around, not seeing the room around her, but observing things from her past. Ruby had always been such a good sister, always kind and caring. She had always wanted to help anyone she could, and would do anything to try. She had looked up to Summer almost like a god, and tried to emulate her in every way. All kinds of scenes flashed before her eyes, pushing Ruby on a swing, playing tag in the yard, eating cookies around the table…

Somewhere far behind her, Ruby started to move again. Yang couldn't see it, but she could hear it well. Ruby's boots hit the floor, and Yang could feel them growing closer. Tears started to fall from her eyes. She didn't want this. She didn't want Ruby to do this.

There was nothing that she could do, though, and had to simply lie there. As Ruby started to draw closer, her eyes started to close. She would simply have to accept her fate.

She didn't feel it when Ruby's fangs returned to her neck, or when the last drops of blood would leave her body. She would die there, on the floor, bled dry by the person she loved most in the world. Her last thought, the thing that echoed throughout her mind just before losing herself for the last time was a simple one word question: why? She would never know what had driven her sister to this madness, and she would never know what would become of her. She couldn't feel her already-cold corpse of a body anymore, but the pain of that question stung more than any bite could.

.

.

* * *

Author's Note:

Leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Yang's eyes flicked open, and instantly she felt that something was odd. Something was very different than it had been a few moments ago, but she couldn't quite place it. Though she didn't know if she was lying down or not, she tried to sit up, and found that there was something over her. It wasn't like a blanket, but wrapped around her like a sleeping bag. It wasn't a sleeping bag, though; it was a strange, rubbery material.

Her dazed mind struggled to assign a name to the thing. There was a zipper in front of her face, and she reached for it, hoping it would offer some answers. The tab wasn't facing her, and her fingers simply brushed past the smooth surface.

She stared for a few moments, puzzled, before something else in her brain started to wake up. If she couldn't unzip it, she could simply break it.

Her fist moved forward nearly faster than she had meant to send it, and punctured the rubber with ease. Cool air rushed into her small space, and it awoke her senses even more.

What was she doing here? The last thing she could remember was Ruby descending on her like a vulture. She had been dead, and now she wasn't. What was going on?

She ripped the rubber further, and felt harsh light meet her eyes. She squinted, but found that her eyes were quick to adjust. The bag fell away, and she sat up completely.

She was sitting on a flat metal table, clear of anything except for the bag she had been put it. She was also aware now of the fact that she was completely naked. Her clothes were nowhere nearby, so she tried not to let it bother her too much. A small rolling table next to her own sterile slab bore an array of scalpels, forceps, and other, more unpleasant things that she had never had the opportunity to use on a frog. When she saw things that looked like they belonged in a mechanic's shop, she looked down at herself, making sure that she wasn't missing anything.

Fortunately enough, it seemed that she still had everything she needed, and she took a deep breath. Keeping a cool head was a necessity, and something that she was good at. Her legs slid over the side of the table, and met with the tiled floor. It was cold, but it didn't shock her like it should've. She didn't pay it much mind, instead deciding to simply roll with the punches and take what she could get.

Her legs felt shaky beneath her, but there was also an odd strength that she hadn't felt before, like there was now something more than simple muscle and sinew. she was stronger, and she didn't know why. She didn't know how long she had been in that bag, but she would think that any amount of time would make her weaker, not stronger.

Her mind was starting to come back in full now, and she looked around with a new eye. The tables all looked a little too sterile, and there was a wall of what looked like large metal cubbies or shelves. She was starting to get a better idea of what the place was, but why she had been put there was still a mystery. She was still very much alive. At least, she felt alive.

She spied a door near the far wall, and started to walk towards it. There was certainly something different now than there had been, but she couldn't place it just yet. Her body moved easier, and it seemed like she was more graceful; something she had never even in her wildest dreams been able to pull off.

She kept an eye out for her clothes, and as she got closer to the door, she saw a drawer that looked suspect by the door. She stepped over and examined it closer, hoping that she would find something of hers. The drawer was marked "personal effects" and as Yang reached for it, she found that it was locked.

She straightened up and sighed, looking around the room. The chances that the keys were somewhere in the room were slim, and she knew it would probably be a waste of time to test them. Why would someone just leave those lying around? She would have to find another way to get out. Or make it, if she had to. The cabinet didn't seem that strong, and she felt more than well enough to put a hole in it bigger than the hole in the bag.

After a few seconds of consideration, she decided she would try to just pry the thing open. Sure, Blake would probably find something around the room to pick the lock, and Weiss would probably find or wait for someone to ask what was going on, but she wasn't either of them. She could make her own way.

Her fingers wrapped around the handle, and the other braced on the top of it. Her body strained, and she saw for only a short second her muscles pull before the drawer gave a pained squeak and the drawer jerked out of the rest. Pieces of the lock trailed behind it, shattered into many tiny pieces, falling to the floor and making a few small noises. Yang smiled, a little joy coming from the strength she found in herself.

Not dead quite yet.

It did raise the question of why she was here, though. Someone had thought she was dead. In fact, if she had been in a body bag, multiple people had probably thought she was dead. She put a hand to her neck, reaffirming that she was alive. Her fingers pressed into the spot she knew her artery ran, and she waited for a pulse. And waited. And waited.

Nothing was forthcoming. No blood pushed its way through her neck, at least not there. She switched to the other side of her neck, and waited again. Still, nothing happened.

She was starting to get worried now; perhaps there was something wrong with her. But she certainly wasn't dead. She wouldn't be up and walking around if she was dead. She couldn't possibly be dead.

Now worried, she tried her wrist. No pulse there. She tried her other wrist, and got the same thing. Even putting a hand to her chest and pressing as hard as she could didn't reveal a single beat. She didn't know what to do. Try to resuscitate herself? She didn't think you could even do that, and even if she could, would it do anything? She felt fine, or as well as you can expect after having woken up in a morgue, and finding out that her heart was not beating.

She drew in a shaky breath, trying to clear her head. It didn't matter. All that she needed to do was get out, and find Ruby. Something was definitely wrong with her, and there was a chance that she had it now too. Of course, finding her clothes was also a concern.

She looked back to where the drawer had fallen, and knelt over to see if it held them.

Her clothes were not, but Ember Celica was, among a few other random things, probably belonging to some of the other "residents"; and she was grateful for that. She put the gauntlets aside for the moments, opting to wait and see if her clothes were anywhere to be found. Putting those on would be much harder if she had to get her sleeves over her gauntlets.

The next drawer came off as easily as the first, and in it she did find a few of her clothes. Her undergarments and shorts. It wasn't much, but she would gladly take it. She had thought about walking around nude before, but now wasn't the time. She had to find Ruby. If she was still at Beacon, she could have done what she had done to Yang to any number of people. No one was safe while she was nearby. Then Yang could find some way to help her.

The next drawer held the rest of her clothes, and she slipped into them as quickly as she could. After that, she put Ember Celica on, and turned back towards the door. She hadn't tried to open the door yet, but it was a pretty safe bet it was locked too. She curled her fingers, and threw a fist at the door with all the strength she could muster.

It was more than she was used to, and the door flew from the wall, its hinges shattered and a large fist-shaped dent at about head height. The metal clattered to the floor, and Yang moved through, eager to get to Ruby.

What she found as she rushed forwards was a boring looking office environment that quickly turned into a front desk, and a door to the outside. The lights were off, but Yang found that she had no trouble making out even vague shapes in the darkness. The light of streetlamps from outside streamed in through the windows, and Yang knew that was where she had to go. She leaped over the front desk, and continued towards the door, not slowing down. Instead, she only lowered her shoulder, and kept running.

The wooden door splintered beneath her force, and Yang continued to move. As the night air filled her lungs, the high-pitch ringing of an alarm bell tore through what Yang was sure had been an otherwise quiet night. She dug her heels into the paved sidewalk, realizing that she was about to go barreling into the street. The sound of concrete against her shoes was loud, but better than that of being hit by a car.

Her caution was for nothing, though, as it seemed that there was not a single soul out. Every window was dark, every street was empty, and as far as she could tell, she was alone.

That was good, because her clothes had a rather large amount of blood covering them, and would convince any onlooker that she was in dire need of assistance. She didn't need help, though, she just needed her sister.

It took a few seconds to find her bearings and figure out where she was, but as soon as she had, she took off, sprinting towards Beacon. As she ran, she found that she didn't tire out as fast as she had expected to. Her legs kept pumping, and her lungs never seemed to get exhausted. More anomalous strength, but she wasn't about to complain.

It took several minutes before she finally reached the base of Beacon Cliff. The climb up the staircase was much easier than it normally was, with her being able to bound up four whole steps at a time the whole way. The few clouds in the sky did little to block the full moon's light. It's glow created a silhouette over the towers and buildings of Beacon. As she took in the sight a small chill went down her spin, like something ominous was about to happen. She shook it off as just nerves though, and pressed forward intent to find Ruby.

The campus was just as dead and barren as the rest of the city, not a single office or room light on. Yang slowed to a walk now, trying to tell what the source of her threatened sense was.

The first thing that she became aware of was how much more vivid everything seemed. The night was not as empty as she had first thought, and as she stopped to see, its contents became apparent.

The noises of insects buzzing around lights, even those twenty feet away, were clear and sharp. The lamps themselves also seemed different, flickering faster than Yang could ever hope to count. Wind drifted lazily past, she could feel it on the back of her neck and against her arms, but it wasn't enough to even move her hair. It was the lightest breeze she had ever felt, and it didn't seem to fade away like others did.

The air was different. There were smells now that she had never picked up on, and that she was sure belonged to people who had walked here hours earlier. Even the taste of the air was different, in a bizarre way that she couldn't even explain to herself.

She let her tongue roll out, and tried to taste the air more. Instead, the thing that grabbed her attention was the sharp point that touched against the bottom of her tongue. She was surprised at first, then put her fingers to her mouth. Was it what she thought it was? The same that Ruby had had?

Her fingers touched her teeth, and she found that they were much longer than they were supposed to be, and much sharper as well. Almost as sharp as the head of a needle.

She didn't know what to think. Should she panic?

She put a hand to her head, pressing her fingers into her temple. She just had to calm down. That was all. She needed to get back to her dorm room and warn her friends about the danger that Ruby posed.

She continued walking, doing her best to ignore the changes to her body. She knew the way to the room easily, but everything seemed different with her new senses. The path that she had walked hundreds of times before seemed so much more vivid. Everything did.

When she got to the dorm building, she found the door locked. You needed your scroll to get in, as well as to unlock the room itself. She reached for the pocket that she normally carried it in, but found that it wasn't there. She cursed to herself, putting a hand to her head, trying to think of some way she could get it, before she remembered that there was another way in.

She had never been entirely sure how Sun had managed to climb the tree outside their window, it was little more than a twig by the time it reached the height of their room, but if Neptune could do it, she could too.

She took a step towards the tree, looking its trunk over for anything she could hold on to. There didn't seem to be so much as a single handhold. She looked back up at the window, and decided that she didn't have much of a choice. Her arms wrapped awkwardly around the trunk, and she started to shimmy up. It was slow at first, but she started to make faster progress as she went up. She squeezed harder on the tree, and felt it start to narrow. Then, as she tried to go as fast as she could, the wood snapped.

The sound was loud to her, but probably not enough to wake anyone sleeping in the building. The top half of the tree toppled over, and she went with it. Her arms tightened further by reaction, and the wood cracked again, splitting in her grip.

The whole collection of body and bark hit the paved ground, and she felt the wind knocked out of her lungs. This didn't seem to be quite the inconvenience that it used to be, and she got back to her feet, hissing through her teeth, annoyed.

That was a problem. If she couldn't climb up, she had precious few other options. She could break the doors down, but that would inevitably wake more than a few people up, and they would come running. There had to be some other way, but what?

she gave a frustrated little laugh to herself. She could try jumping. A fall from almost two stories hadn't phased her at all, and it seemed like she was getting stronger by the second. Maybe she really could manage something like that. She walked over to the side of the building again, stepping past the stump of the tree, and looked up at their window. Four floors up. It was probably more than a little optimistic, but she might as well try.

She bent her legs, and took a deep breath. It was probably a bad idea, but that hadn't stopped her before.

She leapt as high as she could, throwing her arms up with her, trying to get as much momentum as she could. She had to slap her hands over her mouth to stop herself from shouting as she rocketed off the ground, air rushing past her as she rapidly gained height.

She reached the top of her arc, and felt her body start to slow as gravity dragged her back down. Her eyes flicked back to her window, and she reached out in hopes of grabbing it, but she had barely gotten past the third story.

She fell back to the ground, and found that in her sudden shock at her jumping ability had made her control over herself midair virtually nonexistent. Her body twisted as she tried to get her feet under her, but there wasn't enough time. She hit the ground again, back flat and spine tingling from the impact. She was sure that she had hit her head, but beyond another breath being forced out of her chest, she felt nothing. No pain, and no disorientation.

She sat up, looking herself over with a suspicious look. it wasn't a long enough fall to do any serious damage, but she at least expected something. A slight headache, some confusion, anything really.

She stood again, now quite liking some aspects of her new state. It seemed she was much more durable now. She still hadn't gotten to her room though, but she could try again. Her body was more than capable of another try.

She readied herself, and made another leap off the ground. This time she was ready, and managed to stay upright the whole time. She stretched her arms as far as she could, but still came a few feet short.

Her feet hit the ground again, lighter than the last two times, and she gritted her teeth. Only a few feet. Three whole stories didn't mean anything if she couldn't make that last few feet.

She readied herself to jump again, this time preparing her mind as well as her body. She was going to get up to that window, one way or another. Maybe the problem wasn't that her legs weren't strong enough, but that the rest of her was too heavy. She didn't know how she could change that, though, short of cutting a few pieces of herself off. She was still going to try. She'd grown fangs, sprinted half across town without getting tired and jumped nearly thirty feet in the air. Maybe she had some other trick up her sleeves, and just hadn't found it yet.

Her mind raced with the possibilities. There were so many things that she could try; she didn't know where to start. She was already super strong and extra perceptive, but those were slightly boring. Maybe she had something cooler, like laser eyes. The only problem was that she didn't know how to turn her laser eyes on.

She focused on the wall as hard as she could, and tried to imagine cutting through it with nothing but her vision. She kept doing that for a few seconds, before she blinked, and saw that nothing was happening.

She sighed. It was a long shot anyways, and laser vision wouldn't really help her reach her room anyways. What would help with that was being able to walk through walls.

A smile crossed her face, and she started to walks towards the wall, thinking of how she might be able to pass through it. She wasn't a ghost, but maybe she could go through walls like one. She tried to think of how she could simply walk through the solid wall. She stepped forward, hopeful, and closed her eyes as she approached.

The building collided with her nose first, and the rest of her body followed. She felt her body flatten against the wall, and she staggered back.

Right. Maybe that had been a little wishful. As much as she would love to phase through solid objects, she would probably fall through the ground at some point anyways, if she could do something like that. She wondered what that would be like. Would she actually fall all the way to the center of the earth?

She shook her head again. It didn't matter. She had to focus. If she could get to her window, she could warn her friends. Things would get better from there.

Maybe jumping was her best bet. It was the only thing that she knew she could do for sure. She just had to jump higher. It probably wasn't going to be easy, but she was going to get in, one way or another.

It was only a few seconds before she was by the side of the building again, getting ready to try. If she could just get a little more height, she'd be able to grab a hold of the windowsill and pull herself up.

She jumped again, trying her hardest to imagine being pushed further into the air. It seemed more like something Ruby would try, but there was no harm in giving it a shot. She rose, and her eyes widened as she actually felt herself move farther than she had before, as though gravity wasn't even fighting against her. The window came closer, and she reached out, grabbing for the sill.

She managed to wrap her fingers around it, and pulled herself towards it. Her body moved easily, and as she got closer she tried to bring her feet up with her.

She couldn't feel her legs at all. At first she thought she had simply found her new limit, then she looked down, and had to try very hard not to scream.

They were completely gone. In their place, there was what looked like a thick mist, a color that Yang might've thought of as ugly if she didn't have her new eyes. There were shades that she had never seen before, and that she didn't know how to process. It was dark, and seemed to shift quickly from color to color almost faster than she could see.

As her mind lost focus on getting to the window, the mist pulled back in towards her, and seemed to reform into her legs.

She stared down, feeling a sudden heavy pressure as her flesh returned to her. It didn't hurt, but it was definitely an uncomfortable sensation. It was still hard to resist making some noise, but she did her best to keep her mouth shut. She finished climbing up, and tried to calm down.

So there were some weirder sides to her new abilities. That was fine, she had to make sure she remembered that she could do that. She would try controlling it more sometime soon, when she had the opportunity.

She turned, and tried to peek in through the glass. It was easy to see in, but what she saw worried her. The beds were empty, but the rest of the room looked almost like it always did. There were a few large bloodstains on the floor that she knew she recognized as having come from her own struggle with her sister.

She needed to get in and look around. There was no way that they would just be gone, and there was no reason they would be out so late otherwise. She opened the window, and managed to slip inside without too much trouble.

Instantly she felt that something was off. Some small part of her mind was insisting that something was not right, but she couldn't tell what it was. She stepped in onto the dresser in front of the window, then down onto the floor. It was almost eerily quiet, devoid of anything that she usually heard, like the breathing of her friends.

There was no one there. She walked in further, and let her eyes roam freely. Nothing seemed disturbed or in disarray, in fact it almost seemed cleaner than the last time Yang had been there. Unless Weiss had somehow gotten to them, there was no way that the room would've been cleaned like that. Especially not with the blood on the floor. There was no way that would be hidden from them. Ruby would've had to do some incredible lying to make them think that was no big deal.

She continued walking through the room, doing her best to stay quiet. The beds looked neatly made, there was no trash on the ground, the desk by the door was ordered well, the room couldn't possibly look better, except for the blood on the floor.

She walked over to the bathroom, figuring that being thorough in her search was a good idea. The door opened, and the dark interior was easily visible to her superior eyes. It, just like everything else, was spotless. None of the things that normally sat by the sinks were still there, toothbrushes and other things. None except her own, anyways.

She sighed. What happened to her friends? She was worried about them.

She walked over to the shower stalls, thinking.

Ruby had attacked her, but her sister would never do something like that voluntarily. They loved each other so much that she couldn't just lash out and do that. Something must've forced her hand. Maybe it was a one time thing. She just needed one person, and Yang was unfortunately the one closest when that need grew too large.

Of course, that would mean that Yang would probably feel those urges too, soon. It seemed like she was becoming more like whatever had happened to Ruby.

That wasn't a good thought. She remembered her sister's face as she attacked her. It hadn't really been her sister. Not in mind, at least. That was why she had to find a way to help her.

The sound of the door opening made Yang look back, and she saw light falling into the room from the hall. She should have heard anyone approaching from the hall.

Hope flared in her chest. Maybe it was Ruby, and the rest of her friends, coming back from wherever they had been. Yang's body moved faster than she could stop it, practically a blur as she moved into the light, a huge smile on her face. She was ready to put everything behind them, and simply find her help.

What greeted her was not Ruby.

It was Professor Ozpin, and he did not look happy.

* * *

Author's note:

Leivve is to thank that a second chapter happened, and has convinced me to keep going on what was supposed to just be a little oneshot.  
So of course, tell me what you think. Leivve had a lot of input here, and I think he did a fantastic job. Thanks Leivve!


	3. Chapter 3

Yang stared at Ozpin uncomprehendingly. Why was he here? She was looking for her friends, and for Ruby. Maybe he knew where they were.

He stared back at her, a grim look visible over his thin glasses. She wanted to say something, but found that she simply couldn't. She simply stood, rooted to the spot, still staring at Ozpin with a bewildered look.

He drew in a deep sigh, then spoke, breaking the silence.

"Hello, Yang. You're looking well this evening. Well, considering the circumstances, I suppose. I'm guessing you don't have much of a clue as to what's happened, do you? No idea how long you've been away?"

Yang felt her jaw move as she tried to speak, but the muscles in her throat weren't working well at the moment. She felt some annoyance at this fact, but mostly just felt stunned. There was something about the situation that she couldn't quite wrap her head around. Nothing seemed to have changed too much, other than her friends being gone.

She shook her head, and Ozpin nodded. He spoke again, saying, "That's unfortunate. Well, in any case, allow me to explain what's going on, at least from my perspective."

His shoulders dropped, and he seemed suddenly more tired than Yang had ever seen him, his face falling and back slumping over. "Perhaps you should sit down. I don't expect this to be a pleasant conversation for either of us."

He motioned toward Yang's bed, and she followed his direction, still unsure of what to do. She was starting to come out of her stupor, but still couldn't quite focus too well. She sat on her own bed, facing Weiss's bed, and Ozpin walked over to lean against it, putting a shoulder against the wooden frame, and resting the rest of his weight on his cane.

"Well, to start with, you were proclaimed dead roughly a week ago. You were found in the Emerald Forest, and estimated to have been there for several days. You had several broken bones, indicating that you had sustained a heavy blow. The distance into the forest also indicated that it was the launching pads that had been used to move you, but your body hadn't been touched, not even by natural creatures who would take advantage of your corpse. I thought there was something off about that, and opted to keep your body, just in case."

Yang raised an eyebrow and repeated the words, "Just in case?"

Ozpin nodded, and said, "Yes, you see, I knew what was going to happen. It might come as a surprise to you, but this will not be the first time I've dealt with a situation like yours. When your body was retrieved, I was present, and saw the signs of what had happened. Doctors who examined you said that you showed signs that would suggest you bled to death, but the bite on your neck would have been too small to cause that kind of blood loss. I had your body set aside for further examination, and "forgot" schedule another examination."

He took a deep breath and continued, "Your sister had gone missing that day as well, and at first I thought she was out looking for you. I had seen her earlier that day, and she seemed quite distressed. I generally try to refrain from taking too much interest when it comes to my student's personal affairs, but when I saw the bite on your neck, it became clear that my intervention was necessary. I'm sure you've noticed that the city was rather empty tonight, I couldn't risk anything happening, so I had that part of the city closed down so you could make your way here…" he paused, searching for the right word, "undistracted' so to say.''

"What do you mean?" Yang asked, worried there were more risks to her new super powers than she had found.

Ozpin spoke again, a heavier tone on his voice. "I take it you've already noticed that you have certain capabilities that you didn't before. You have your sister to thank for that, unfortunately. Even more unfortunate is that while it may seem extraordinary at first, these abilities come with a terrible cost. Are you familiar with any of the old Atlas legends? About Huzur and his adventures that would lead to his supposed founding of Atlas?"

"You mean from 'The Atlas'? The dude that was like nine feet tall and killed Deathstalkers with his bare hands? I use to read stories of him to Ruby when she was little. I actually think she brought a copy of the book with her to Beacon. But what does that have to do with Ruby?" Yang couldn't see how this was relevant.

"Well one of the stories, closer to the end, after he built the walls of Atlas, was about a man of the night who fed on the blood of mortals. He severely hurt Huzur, but even while wounded, the battle lasted the whole night and only ended when the sun rose, banishing the creature to a painful death of fire and judgement."

Yang's eyes widened when Ozpin mentioned that the sun had caused the man pain. She recalled what had happened when Ruby had looked out the window, seeing the sun for just a split second. Ozpin's face went flat, recognizing Yang must have had some degree of familiarity.

Ozpin continued his voice a handled monotone. "Though many regard these stories as nothing but wishful thinking, a number of them are likely true, or at least have some basis in reality, including the vampire; as you yourself prove."

Yang sat in silence, not sure how to respond. So vampires were a thing, and both she and Ruby had turned into them. did that mean that both of them were going to die? There had to be a way out of this. She could still save her sister, and herself, she just had to find it.

Her growing panic showed on her face, and Ozpin responded to it without waiting for her to voice it. "Now the book doesn't go into great detail about the aspects of vampires other than their fighting prowess, but luckily there are other ways to find information like that. There are ways to revert the process, and restore a person to their normal selves. These are not easy, though, and would require a huge commitment on your part. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to save your sister?"

"Yes!" Yang exclaimed, jumping up and almost grabbing his collar in excitement, "Where is she?" She tried her hardest to not sound like she was demanding an answer, but failed.

"She is on Patch. I was worried when her and the other vampire met that she might-" He stopped seeing Yang was completely ignoring him as she dashed for the door.

"Wait!" He called out to her, moving as quickly as he could to get to the door before she got too far ahead. "You can't help her directly, we need to-"

"You do that then!" She called as she ran down the hallway, not at all concerned about waking anyone else up, "I need to get to Ruby!"

Ozpin was going to continue, but Yang had already rounded the corner and out of sight. He let out a soft growl in annoyance, but let it go, knowing it was just impulse. Memories of when he went running after his first vampire filled his head, and guessed it was just part of being a Hunter. He collected his cane and made pursuit. This was something Yang was going to have to see firsthand, and he knew Yang would be back. In the meantime he would get everything ready and meet her on Patch when the truth finally sunk into that occasionally thick skull of hers.

She wouldn't be making it to patch today anyways, that was a certainty. Not as she was now. He reached into a pocket and pulled out his watch. It was four in the morning; the sun was bound to be already peeking out over the horizon. If Yang didn't heed the warning he had given her, she was going to feel just what kind of pain the sun could cause.

He hadn't told her about the hunger that would soon come. The mind bending, soul rending hunger that all vampires felt eventually. And after they tasted blood, their sanity was lost, replaced with only the desire to get more, and more; a thirst that could never truly be satisfied.

Yang's feet pounded on the floor as she sprinted faster than the eye could follow. She was going to get to Patch, find Ruby, and convince her to hunt the vampire. She was her sister, she had to listen.

The door to the outside loomed at the bottom of the stairs, and Yang bowed her head, bringing her shoulder up like she had with the door at the morgue. She wasn't going to waste any time, not even a second. The door burst open, nearly knocked off its hinges, and there was a moment where Yang felt powerful and free. Like she could do anything. Finding Ruby was going to be easy, and hunting the vampire that hurt her might even be enjoyable.

Then all of that was replaced with a searing pain, so complete that it seemed to engulf her. Yang's body could only respond with one final spastic jerk as it tried to get back into the building, but all she managed to do was stop moving.

She didn't feel when her knees hit the ground, or when her chest let out an animalistic, inhuman cry of pain. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear, and twitching helplessly was all her body could do.

She didn't feel it when two hands grabbed her collar and dragged her back into the building. All she was aware of was that the pain started to subside slowly. When feeling returned to her limbs, and the ringing in her ears started to subside, she tried to feel around her, asking, "Hello? Am I dead?"

The redundancy of the question occurred to her briefly, but she wasn't in the mood to laugh about it. It felt like she was on the floor still, and she started trying to get up. A firm hand on her shoulder held her down, and she heard a familiar voice say, "I must insist you stay down. I had hoped that you would be a little more cautious."

It was Ozpin again. She bit back a few curses, and tried to knock his hand away. Under normal circumstances, she was sure that she could do it. With her new vampiric strength, she was certain that she could knock him around if she wanted to. But now it seemed like his arm was made of steel, and hers of jelly. She wasn't sure if she needed to breathe, but her chest felt constricted, like she couldn't catch her breath.

She felt her eyelids move, but was still as blind as a bat. Her fingers went to her eyes, trying to tell if she still even had eyeballs. She could hear Ozpin's voice, talking with others, but she couldn't quite catch what it was they were saying. It was something about everything being fine, and that they just needed to go back to their rooms, but she couldn't be sure.

Slowly, her vision started to return as well, blurry at first, but gradually growing clearer. She looked down at her own arms, able to tell that there was something off about them, and as the detail of her vision grew, she was able to see more clearly.

Her normally fair complexion had turned to an angry red, with patches of skin peeling off. As she watched, more patches peeled away, revealing more tender, but better colored skin underneath. Her nerve endings tingled with pain still, but it was at least tolerable now.

She stayed sitting for several minutes, simply taking the time to recover. Her mind was still reeling from the pain. She thought she felt sick to her stomach, but that could've just been her imagination.

When she felt well enough again, she stood up, and took in her surroundings. She had been dragged back into the entryway of the building, and Ozpin was close by, peering at her concernedly. She felt embarrassed that she had simply run out like that, but she was going to get Ruby. There was nothing he could do to stop her. Now it was simply that there was another challenge.

If she could find a way to travel during the day without that happening again, she would be set. She remembered that Ruby had been walking to classes with her hood up, and her cape drawn around her tightly. Maybe if she could imitate that, she would be able to get to Patch.

She tried to avert her eyes as she made to walk past Ozpin, but he called out to her, his voice more gentle now than it had been.

"Yang, please, just listen to me. You can't help Ruby this way. The only thing you can do is go after the vampire that infected her. If you don't-"

Yang clenched her fist tightly, jaw working as she tried to keep from snapping at the man. Before, she could've simply ignored him, but now she wasn't in such a patient mood. Now she was much more irritable, and Ozpin's voice grated on her ears in a way that she didn't find particularly enjoyable.

She rounded on him, feeling her anger plastered across her face. He stopped, but he didn't seem scared. Instead, a very peculiar look washed over his face. He was sad. Not angry, not even a little intimidated by how close or agitated she was. It was like he was looking at a kid throwing a tantrum.

Yang sighed. That was what was happening anyways, although she didn't want to admit it. She tried to calm herself down, and started walking again. Ozpin didn't try to stop her this time. She had made it quite clear that her mind wasn't going to be changed about this.

She stalked back to her room, feeling her senses continue to restore from the damage they had taken. It was good to know she could regenerate like that, but it was obvious that betting that ability against the sun wasn't an extraordinarily good idea.

As she walked back up the stairs, she thought about what that meant. She shook it off as something to worry about later. For now she needed to focus on getting to Ruby, it wasn't safe until she was under control. She changed into a more covering outfit, the one she wore when they were fighting Roman Torchwick in that Atlesian Paladin down town a while back. She pulled the zipper up to cover her chest and wrapped her scarf around her neck to provide full protection. Her dad had gotten her a full face motorcycle helmet with a sunglass visor, which she threw on as well.

Once fully enclosed she made her way back to the door. Ozpin stood there still, looking up and down her outfit, probably looking for any gaps she might have missed. Yang didn't pause for him as she pushed the doors back open.

This time the light flooded in, and she could feel it maneuvering its way through the small threads and fibers of her clothes. It didn't hurt, at least not too much, so she continued. She still felt a core instinct in her chest saying to run away; but she couldn't, not with Ruby on the line.

As she walked off, Ozpin called out from the doorway of the building. "Yang, if you're going to insist on being stubborn, fine. Just know I'll be waiting when you realize it's pointless to do it this way."

"I'll save her."

"You can most certainly try. But I'm afraid this isn't something strength alone can overcome. Unless you intend to kill her, but I doubt that."

He fell quiet as Yang continued to make her way through the light of the morning. Ozpin pulled out his watch and took a moment to remember the time when the ferry to Patch would open for the day.

Yang was going to head down the cliffside to the boat dock, but was stopped by a man calling to her.

"Wait! Ozpin wanted me to give you a ride!"

She turned back to see one of the many pilots who lived and worked on campus running toward her. Even though her helmet was covering her face, she could smell something horrible, and quickly realized it was him. It had to have been at least a day since he last showered. He had probably been woken up before he could take one. Her mouth watered slightly as he approached for some reason, but ignored it as he stopped in front of her.

"Whew, glad I caught you here. Those stairs can be a killer," He gasped, out of breath from his pursuit.

"A ride? To where?" She asked, not knowing how informed he was on what was happening.

"Ozpin said you had a mission on Patch, but since the ferry is closed for another two hours, he

told me to just drop you off on the dock there." Apparently not very.

"Alright sure, where is your plane?"

"Dock 3, this way." He waved to her, seeming to have recovered enough to lead the way.

* * *

The city streets passed under her as the Bullhead flew over the city. Her feet lazily hung over the side, letting her legs absentmindedly wave in the wind. This was much faster than if she had ridden her bike, but all the same she wanted to go faster. Patience was never her strong suit, she always had to be moving, always doing something. The pilot tried making some small talk, but after Yang tailed off her sentence for the third time, he decided to just stop.

The rest of the flight was spent with Yang fidgeting, still feeling the pressure of the sun on her makeshift armor. It was holding up. It wasn't comfortable, but it was holding up. The need to do something was growing in her mind, making her incredibly restless. She spent a few minutes pacing back and forth in the cabin, trying to settle down, but it didn't help.

The only thing that she could do was watch the landscape whizz by impatiently.

When the pilot finally spoke again, saying, "We're coming in, you might want to hold on to something."

She ignored his advice, instead walking back to the open bulkhead, just waiting to jump out. The sooner she could find Ruby, the better. The craft hovered over the wooden dock that the fairy between Patch and the mainland ran. As soon as the wheels of the Bullhead touched down, she was out, peering around. The pilot said something about taking back off towards the school, that he had another flight to take care of or something, but Yang wasn't paying attention. She had already focused entirely on finding Ruby.

The doors of the Bullhead slid shut, and its engines wined as it took back into the air, leaving her behind. Her eyes quickly turned to scanning the dock, and she found a man standing at the far end of the dock, where it let out to the island.

She started walking towards him, watching carefully for anything out of the ordinary. His gaze followed her as she approached, but it seemed like he was barely aware of her. His body didn't move like it should have if he were really reacting to her presence.

As she came within arms reach of the man, he put a hand up in greeting, but the motion was jerky and unnatural looking. He started to speak, and Yang stopped, figuring that he might be able to help. "Hello stranger. Welcome to Patch. I hope you enjoy your stay."

Yang raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down through the tinted helmet, realizing that she recognized the voice. They had never had any real interaction before, but she knew that her father had him over to their house several times. She knew that he probably wouldn't recognize her after so many years, and with her body wrapped up like it was. She spoke, saying, "Right. Actually, I used to live here. I'm looking for my sister, Ruby Rose. I heard that she came here a few days ago, and I was wondering if you might have seen her?"

The man stared blankly at her for a few more seconds before his head dipped slowly, and a dull smile slid across his face.

"Yes, she was so torn over the fact you went missing. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to see you. I think she's at Signal right now, probably talking with her friends. You know how kids can get."

Yang's eyes narrowed as she thought about what he said. Why would Ruby go back to Signal? And why would Weiss and Blake go with her?

The man started to speak again, saying in a slow, friendly voice, "I could lead you there, if you-"

Yang cut him off by pushing her way past, her shoulder knocking into him as she went. "I know the way." She sounded rude, but she doubted it mattered. Something was obviously wrong with the man, and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

She walked down the dirt path that lead away from the dock, towards the main town that surrounded Signal. The path led through a small wooded area, and Yang was glad for that. The beating of the sun on her clothes was growing more and more uncomfortable as time went on, and she would be glad for whatever shelter she could get.

Leaves weren't the best cover, but they took a little of the heat away. Her pace slowed as she walked through the somewhat overgrown path, but once she was out, and could see the town ahead, she sped up again.

People were out on the streets, but something seemed wrong. On the occasions that she had been here as a kid, everyone had seemed very cheerful, like Patch was it's own little world, and nothing could go wrong. Now there was a very definite change. Everyone she saw walked with backs hunched, arms around themselves nervously, and casting many nervous glances behind them. Those that weren't seemed to be gazing around looking at everyone within sight, save her.

Everyone seemed to be either avoiding Yang or just flat out ignoring her, whenever she approached, groups whispered among themselves and scurried away quickly.

She started to feel paranoid, sure that there was something much worse going on than what it seemed. She continued to walk, either being feared or ignored, until she was about halfway through the city.

She thought she could feel someone following her, but tried to shake the feeling off as merely being nerves. It didn't disappear though, and Yang thought about what she could do about it.

Before she could do anything, a small voice said from behind her, "Excuse me, miss? I think you dropped this."

She turned, and found that the person following her was a woman with brown hair, a slight build, and strikingly blue eyes. Yang might've been suspicious of her, but there was something in her eyes that seemed almost pleading. Her hand was extended out towards her, and in it was clutched a fistful of Lien.

Yang stepped back suspiciously, holding up her hands and saying, "Sorry, I don't think I did. Maybe you should ask someone else, or turn that into the police."

The woman took two steps forward, bringing her into an uncomfortably close distance, and Yang could see that there were tears in the corners of her eyes. He voice was almost a begging whisper now, and she said, "I'm sure! Please! It's yours!"

Yang reached forward and took the money hesitantly, and shoved it into a pocket. "T-Thanks…" She didn't know what to say, or whether or not she could trust the woman. It seemed like she was trying to get something, but there was also the sneaking suspicion that she was simply insane.

"We don't get many travelers out here this time of year. Where you going?" She asked with honest curiosity.

"I'm from Patch actually, me, my dad and sister live out over by the cliff on the north side of the island."

"Oh? Why are you here now then? Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

"I'm looking for my sister. The man at the docks said she was at Signal right now, so I was just heading over there." Yang stated, turning away hoping to end the conversation.

The women took her arm, proclaiming "I can take you there, I know a shortcut, just down here." She seemed overly excited about helping Yang, and was literally pulling on her arm down toward a back alley. Something about her enthusiasm seemed fake, and Yang raised her guard suspecting a trap, but went along for now, waiting till she saw this woman's hand.

They walked down the alley, away from the street filled with people. Despite being the opportune moment to do so, Yang detected no malice from the lady leading her.

"So your sister ditching class or something?" The women asked as they walked along.

"Um, no. She's well-" Stopping to think of a way to explain without sounding crazy, "She's sick and I need to take her home before something bad happens."

The lady stopped in front of her looking her dead in the eye, actually making a small chill go down Yang's spine. "So you're taking her away? Off the island?" Her voice sounding desperate for an answer.

"Yes. Why do you care so much?" Yang asked, suspicious of the women's intent.

The women quickly leaned in, so her lips were next to her ear. Yang reflexively pulled back, but was held in place.

"You must listen. That girl showed up here almost a week ago, with a small group of people and proclaimed herself 'Queen of Patch.' When the people blew her off, she grabbed a Huntsman and killed him right there plain as day in front of everyone. Taiyang and many of the teachers are out in the woods trying to stop her, but she has full control of the island. She's made a lot of people her slaves; they'll do anything she says. Anyone who breaks her rules, or just random people are taken up to signal and they don't come back. Sometimes we hear screams, but they never last for long."

"Wait, wait!" Yang interrupted, so she could ask a few questions, "If my dad and the teachers are out in the woods, why haven't they been able to help you?"

"Shhh! Not so loud." raising her finger to her lips slowly backing away so Yang would keep moving down the alley with her, "They have been able to save a few people, but if they ever try to do something more forward, the Queen's servants will just put knives to their throats and threaten to kill themselves."

This fact hit Yang hard. The fact Ruby would make people kill themselves seemed unreal to her. "So, all you have to do is make a right here and keep walking down this road till you reach Signal!" The women exclaimed, an unrealistic amount of joy in her voice considering what she just said. Yang looked up and realized it was because they were back on one of the main roads. She nodded and thanked the women for directions as she waved back and wished her a good day, before quickly walking the other way.

She watched the woman go for a moment, not sure if she should offer to help her, or simply let her go. The speed she walked at clearly indicated that she didn't expect any help, so, with a sigh, Yang turned to face Signal.

The tall spires of the school gave it a normally welcome and distinctive appearance, but now that she knew what was waiting inside, she saw only danger. She could hope that Ruby would be a little more compliant than what the woman had said, or that she was mistaken when she had said it was Ruby, but all of that felt hollow.

The road to Signal didn't seem long enough, as she found herself at the gate of the school grounds before she knew it.

She had gone to this school for four years, and this was the first time she had ever felt like she wasn't safe.

Her foot crossed over the threshold of the gate, and she felt the air around her go still. it was suddenly very, very quiet. she looked around, and didn't see a single thing stir. One thing stood out to her. Next to the door was a whiteboard covered in colorful lettering reading "Yang's Welcome Back Party - Main Auditorium." Inspecting it closer she could tell it was recently written, with small drawings of balloons and other party themed images decorating it.

A chill ran down her spine as she looked at it. It was so much like Ruby to draw something like this, and yet Yang couldn't imagine what horrors waited for her ahead.

She put her hands on the large door, pushing on it with all her strength. Even with her improved body, the massive barrier of wood took several seconds to swing fully open. Once it had, Yang peered into her former school.

The main hall, where students had their meals, among various other functions, was almost pitch black. Yang knew there were several massive windows set high on the walls, but as she walked in, she found that huge sets of sheets, some sewn together to form better curtains, blocked out all the light.

The weighted door swung back shut behind her, and her eyes quickly adjusted to the total darkness. Even wearing a tinted helmet, she could see perfectly fine. That must have been what it was like to be a faunus. The idea to take the helmet off occurred to her, but she wasn't going to risk that. She still didn't know what waited for her.

The main auditorium was in the first floor of a building behind the main building, through the large courtyard. The walk was slow and eerie for Yang as she passed through many halls and classrooms that were normally bustling with activity. Not a single sound met her ears the entire time, except for those of her own feet against the ground.

The walk through the courtyard was equally unsettling, and there were usually at least two couples of students hidden in some remote fold of the large garden, making out. She might've been a part of more of those couples than she would ever admit.

The sun still beat down on the plants, but as she got closer to the auditorium, a heavy cloud passed between the school and the sun. Yang stopped for a moment to glance behind her at it. It looked like a big thunderstorm would be rolling in soon.

She turned back to the door, refocusing herself. The weather didn't matter. She had to get Ruby, and she was right through this door.

She pushed it open, and was immediately greeted by a series of what looked like flashing holiday lights strung along the short and narrow corridor. Her attention wasn't settled on them for long. Down the hall where Ruby wrote she would be, she could hear soft moans echoing down, with her sharpened hearing.

"Oh yes, Jaune! Right there, but harder!"

In that moment Yang completely forgot about Ruby's current state, and went into protective sister mode. She bolted down the halls as fast as she could move her legs. The smaller hall door was no match for her as she leapt forward, a flying kick blasting the wood open as she passed through the portal.

She stood with Ember Celica ready to go kick the dumb blonde's teeth in. The sight wasn't quite what she was expecting, but it was close enough. Ruby was in the center of the room, illuminated with torches and candles scattered around. She laid on a wood table with Jaune over her. His hands were pressing down on her back, with more than a few soft pops reaching Yang's superior hearing. The rest of everything going on reminded her what was happening and she forgot about Jaune for the moment. Pyrrha and Weiss were at the end of the table, rubbing her feet softly, while Blake stood over by Ruby's head with a large basin in her hands and a bright green curly straw leaning over the edge. Yang quickly guessed what was in it, when an overwhelming smell of iron reached her nose.

Ruby let out one last moan as she pushed herself up slightly, but Jaune simply shifted to her shoulders. Yang looked over her sister, noting she was only in her undergarments before looking back at her sister.

Ruby flashed her a smile, her two long fangs being shown off, plain as day for the world to see.

"Yang! I'm so glad you're ok!"

* * *

Author's note:

Thanks Leivve again for the help on this, it wouldn't happen without you.

If you had any thoughts on what's going on, leave it in a review!


	4. Chapter 4

Yang didn't know what to feel as she took in the bizarre scene. She knew that she wanted Jaune off of Ruby, though, and decided to start there. Ruby sat up and threw her arms out as wide as she could ready to receive Yang as she sprinted forwards. A smile spread on her face and her eyes drifted close hoping to make the feeling even more special. The warm embrace of Yang never came; instead a gust of wind went past her face followed by the sound of flesh meeting flesh.

Ruby peeked her eyes open to see Yang beside her, with her arm next to her face. She spun till she could see what was behind her and saw Jaune groaning in pain on the floor almost ten meters out.

"Jaune!" She shouted as she jumped from the table and ran for him. Yang watched with worry as a black mist started to form up around Ruby before forming up around her body, changing her from her underwear to her normal blouse and combat skirt combo. Weiss and Pyrrha remained kneeling at the end of the table, unmoving. They gazed off into space like they were in a dream or trance of some sort. Yang waved her hand in front of their eyes but they didn't react in the slightest. Even when she poked their cheeks they didn't even twitch.

"Jaune, are you ok? Here let me make it better." Yang watched Ruby holding Jaune's head in her arms. She softly moved his bangs to the side revealing a little more than just a drip of blood rolling down his forehead. A small knot formed in Yang's stomach, realizing she hit him a little harder than she intended to, and probably harder than she could ever before.

A long slender tongue slipped out of Ruby's mouth and caught the blood before it dripped to the floor. A soft moan escaped her throat as the taste of blood touched her senses. The muscle rolled up his skin catching all the crimson liquid on it's way up to its source. Finally she reached the spot of broken skin just below the start of his hair and closed her lips around it. Watching Ruby suck on the bloody blonde boy caused Yang to lick the tips of her fangs, and she only realized she had moved toward them when she was already half way there.

Ruby started moaning a little louder, and it looked like she was starting to breath harder as she continued to drink blood from the wound. A small pop sounded through the room and the red girl finally broke away from the boy's head. A little more blood started to pool up, but was stopped by a sudden pass of Ruby's long tongue and immediately followed by a soft kiss. It looked like nothing had happened to the wound, but it wasn't bleeding now. Ruby smiled at him, glad of her work before turning to glare at Yang.

"Why did you do that! You're so mean!"

"Me? What about you? What did you do to him and the others?" Throwing her hand out to point at Blake, who like the other two, was just standing there frozen.

"I just enthralled them. No big deal."

"No big deal! You enthralled them! You… wait, enthralled? What do you mean?"

"Are you hungry?"

"What?" Ruby's sudden change of topic caught Yang off balance; typical for Ruby to worry more about food, her gluttony tended to get the best of her at times.

"We both know how you get when you're hungry. You haven't eaten yet have you?"

Yang could hear some muffled sounds coming from the door she had kicked open. They were soft noises though, so whatever it was must have been really far off.

"I guess I could use something to eat, what you got?" She eyed the basin of blood Blake was still holding and hoped Ruby wouldn't offer it to her. Ruby followed her gaze to the bowl and flicked her hand at Blake waving her off to leave. Yang let out a sigh as she watched it leave, glad Ruby was just being a bit of a freak; not a monster.

"I've had that for a couple hours now, what kind of host would I be if I didn't give you something nice and fresh? I heard you coming when you were out by the door and already had Ren go out to get us something."

The sounds of muffled yelling reach her ears as the source grew closer. Ruby stood up, gently laying Jaune on the ground, and walked over to the table.

"Um… Ruby… What did you get?" Concern about the noise grew as it came closer, making her feel like someone needed help.

"Just some meat. One of my sentries spotted a tasty member of the flock for us to enjoy."

"Lamb? Or beef?" Yang suggested, hoping it wasn't what she thought. Ruby squatted down in front of the table, and Weiss sprinted forwards in response, placing herself on her hands and knees as Ruby plopped down right onto the heiress. Pyrrha did the same on the other side for Yang to have a seat on her back like Weiss was for Ruby. Yang didn't take the offer, causing Ruby too look on her in confusion before suddenly coming to an epiphany.

"Oh yeah, you're still new to this aren't you. Here let me give you a rundown then. Dracul explained it like this; we are creatures of the night so we can't go out into the sunlight, but I'm sure you already know that." She paused to look up and down her sister's attire, "We have cool super speed and strength. We can also heal most wounds more quickly than even a Hunter with a powerful aura. And we can also survive things that would flat out kill other people. Only way to kill us is to remove our heads or a stake to the heart. Fire can too, but if it's not hot enough we can out heal it. He also mentioned a few extra things like we don't have reflections in mirrors and we can't cross running water, but I don't remember all the little details he mentioned besides those things."

Her gaze turned to the door and a smile spread as she watched Ren walk in with a gagged women. She was tied up with her hands behind her back and her legs tied together keeping her from moving. Yang's jaw dropped as she immediately recognized the women as the one who had warned her of Ruby only a few minutes ago. Before she could react though, Ruby was already away from the table and skipping merrily over to her. The woman tried to scream and move away, but Ren kept her standing in place.

"My, don't you smell yummy!" Ruby chirped as she arrived before taller women. Standing on her toes she barely managed to reach high enough to get her face to the crook of the woman's neck. She struggled to get away, but once more it proved futile.

Yang took a step forwards before freezing, but her body didn't know how to react. Different parts of her wanted to do different things, so she just stood there, paralyzed. The women was forced to her knees so Ruby was standing over her before removing the gag.

"Let me go! Please! I want to go home-"

Ruby gave the woman a warm smile before saying, "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. Just relax, you can't stop me now."

She followed up by pulling her lips back to reveal her long fangs. The women went wide eye as Ruby's own narrowed into a sinister look.

She screamed as loud as she could as Ruby's fangs found their way around her throat. A pang of fear hit Yang as flashbacks of her own encounter of Ruby filled her mind.

The woman's soft skin broke easily under her sister's fangs, and Yang watched as Ruby started to drain her. The muscles in Ruby's throat worked as she gulped down mouthful after mouthful, and the muscles in the rest of her body started to visibly loosen. Her grip on the woman stayed just as strong though, and as the woman's eyes got even wider and her body gave out, Ruby still held her up, pulling the women even closer, like letting go would kill her.

Moans started escaping her throat between gulps as liquid passed over her taste buds. Her breathing started growing faster and she started sucking harder to get more and more of the delicious life essence. Yang saw Ruby's hips started to grind up on the now pale figure and grew disgusted at the kind of pleasure Ruby must have been experiencing.

Yang tried to look away, feeling one of her legs shift back, and her torso start to turn. Her head didn't, though, instead keeping a fascinated focus on what was happening. She wanted to stop Ruby, but at the same time, there was some kind of sick pleasure in what her sister did. She knew that what she should feel completely horrified, so why didn't she?

She still felt empty, like the worst kind of hunger she'd ever felt. It'd been a dull ache before, she had assumed that there was nothing to be done about it, but the way Ruby looked made her suspect she'd found the answer to it.

She shook her head, closing her eyes and feeling her fingers dig into her scalp. What was she thinking? She couldn't let herself think that way. If she allowed thoughts like that to take any kind of root, they would fester, and she would be like Ruby.

Still, the ache seemed all the more painful now that she knew what the cure was. She had to stop herself, because she was sure that no one else could.

Her eyes opened again, and she felt surprised. When had she been crying? She wiped the water away, and looked up again. The woman had collapsed completely, now mostly flat on the floor, and Ruby was at her throat like a vulture. Yang could see that Ruby's jaw was squeezing like a bear trap, crushing what was left of the woman.

The woman. As Yang's attention shifted to her, she drew in a sharp breath. She barely looked like the desperate woman that had begged for help. Now she looked like a husk, pale white and shriveled up like a fruit. Skin that had been smooth and round was now loose and hanging, like it was simply draped over a skeleton. Her veins underneath were blue, and boldly stood out in contrast.

She didn't seem to be alive anymore, or at the very least conscious. She was glad about that. She didn't think the woman deserved what had happened to her.

Yang's mind started to clear as she pushed away the thoughts of joining Ruby. She was a Huntress; she couldn't do that to anyone. She couldn't let Ruby do that either. She was just as much of a Huntress as Yang, maybe even more so. She was the one who had set out with the goal of helping people. That seemed like so long ago.

She moved forward, trying not to let herself hesitate. Ruby had done this to many more people. It was perverted and wrong, but maybe she could make Ruby see that. There was still hope. Her sister was still in there, somewhere. She just had to find a way to wake her up.

Her footsteps got louder as she sped up, reaching the pace of a run as she got ready to tackle Ruby to the ground. She had to get her away from the blood, then maybe she would listen.

As she got closer, Yang heard other footsteps nearby. It was barely a second later that she barreled head-first into someone, and both of them tumbled to the floor. As she fell, Yang made sure that she came out on top, and pulled one arm back as they stopped; ready to pound whoever it was into the cool floor.

She found herself face-to-face with Ren, who just looked towards the ceiling with a flat, almost bored expression. He didn't seem to be aware that he'd just brought the both of them to a crashing halt, and Yang didn't want to hurt him.

"Oh, uh… Hi Ren."

She pushed herself back up to her feet, and held out a hand for Ren. He didn't react, instead just continuing to stare straight forwards.

Yang pulled her hand back hesitantly, then turned to continue towards Ruby. Before she could say anything Ruby suddenly thrashed her head, causing a loud crack to sound from the now clearly dead woman's neck. Her jaw released the withered neck showing surprisingly little damage to the skin save the two spots her fangs went in and a few lighter teeth marks.

Ruby stood patting a now slightly bloated belly that sent a shiver down Yang's spine. So much blood she had just taken from that poor women and here she was, acting like she had just filled herself at a turkey dinner.

"Sorry about that Yan-" Her sentence was stopped when a sudden burp passed through her throat. She put a hand to her mouth and giggled innocently before apologizing for her rude behavior.

She'd crossed the line. The complete disregard for another person's life replaced the chill in Yang's spine with a fiery rage. The monster that had taken her sister's form had nothing in common with what she had been before. Not now, anyways. There had to be some small piece of Ruby that she could still salvage.

She would make sure that piece was all that was left.

It was hard to keep herself in control, but she started to walk. Her jaw muscles started to work, and her fingers curled into tight fists.

How could something like that happen?

Ruby continued to smile at her as she got closer, but Yang could see a few leftover drops of blood lingering on her lips. Normally in the moments before she got into a fight, she could feel her heart pounding, and feel it in her veins. Now everything seemed deathly still, except for the faint sounds of the people Yang used to think of as friends stalked slowly around the room. She didn't know what exactly Ruby had done to them, but she hoped that she could save them too.

As she started to get within a few feet of Ruby, her sister spoke again.

"What's the matter? I know it was mean of me to not share, but you don't have to look so angry. There's a whole island of people out there! If you want one, I can just-"

The element of surprise made it easier for Yang to land a blow, but Ruby also reacted much faster than she anticipated. She was able to jerk her torso just far enough back that Yang was only able to score a glancing blow, one side of the gauntlet making contact with Ruby's face.

Still, Ember Celica's blast of flaming dust made every little bit count. For a brief moment the torches around the room were rendered obsolete as a gout of bright yellow flame exploded from her wrist.

She saw Ruby's eyes widen as the fire lapped the side of her head, but she was more surprised by her own reaction. As if on instinct, she pulled her arm back from the flame, suddenly very aware of just how hot the dust was. It lasted only a brief moment before the dust lost its power, and the room faded back to being dimly lit by the softly flickering torches.

Yang looked back at Ruby, and found a startled, hurt looking expression. Ruby's pale skin was blackened slightly, and there were a few smears of soot across the unburned side of her face. The wound was already starting to heal, though, and Yang remembered what she had said about "out-healing" fire, or something similar. It didn't seem that her dust would be able to do any real damage, but it could be a useful deterrent. If she could bring herself to use it, that was. She definitely shared the new fear of fire.

Ruby's hand drifted up to her face, and she pressed her fingers into the charred flesh, like she couldn't believe what her sister had just done. Her voice was like a mouse squeaking in the silence.

"Yang, what are you doing? Why-"

She was cut off abruptly as her sister started to shout.

"Do you really not get it? Ruby, you're turning into a monster! I can't let you keep going like this! I don't want to fight with you, but you aren't giving me any choice! Just stop doing all this creepy stuff and come with me!"

Yang breathed heavily after her outburst finished, watching carefully for any change in Ruby's face. She could see the burn healing over, but the distressed look that Ruby held was starting to fade. If she wasn't mistaken, the sides of Ruby's mouth were turning up in another smile.

"Oh come on Yang! Is that really all? You're lucky I didn't get mad. I know what will help you calm down; we can go out on the town and pick out someone in person!" She exclaimed, clearly trying her hardest to stay happy, and defuse the current situation.

"No! No more! Ruby devoted her life to helping people! You mock her by claiming yourself to be her, monster! I'm going to beat you as close to death as I can get you until you tell me what happened to her!"

"Oh Yang, don't you see?" She stood up, keeping the now creepy smile. "I only thought helping people made me happy, but now I know I can just take my pleasure from them!" Instantly she threw her hand up like she was going to grab something.

Instead of something coming to her outstretched hand, her hand came out to Yang. The arm stretched like it was made of rubber and black tendrils exploded from her shoulder and rapidly encircled the arm until they joined at her hand creating a monstrous claw. Caught completely off guard by the sight, Yang didn't even process she needed to dodge before it grabbed her. Ruby effortlessly swung her arm over her head and slammed Yang head first into the hard stone floor behind her on the far end of the auditorium.

The claw released the blonde then retracted back into Ruby until it was to its normal length, the tentacles around her arm fading into black mist. Yang could tell bones were broken by the way they pushed on her skin from the inside, but she didn't feel any pain. Her hand went to her forehead, but the slightest touch made a popping sound, and she could feel one of the bones in her neck sliding into place.

"Pull yourself together. I guess it's going to be a long process teaching you about the real world and what it means to be a vampire." Ruby called to her, a firm voice showing her unwillingness to yield in this debate.

Yang growled as she got up, fixing her wrecked spine and shoulder. Every bone that returned to its place caused her semblance to die down. Only the sudden cool of putting the last piece in place made her realize she could still use it. This healing ability was going to be a pain if she wanted to maintain her strength at full power. No doubt Ruby didn't have that problem with her abilities.

"Now pay attention Yang. It's time for your first lesson." Ruby smiled walking forward with a slow strut that seemed alien coming from her little sister, almost seductive in nature.

Yang shook it off and slammed her feet into the ground to bring her into focus as she stood. Her fist collided together, and Yang felt an almost overwhelming about of energy flow through her. She swung her arm behind her and fired Ember Celica, using the force from the shotgun's discharge to launch her forward. Ruby didn't flinch or react as her sister raced towards her.

Yang threw her fist out just before coming within arm's reach, using the blast to bring herself to an abrupt stop. Another superheated wave of dust shot towards Ruby, and she didn't seem to react at all. At least, not until the dust was less than a foot away from her.

In a sudden flurry of motion almost too quick for Yang to follow, Ruby's cloak exploded up around her like she had suddenly become the center of some kind of invisible gale, and her body jerked out of the way. Yang couldn't even make out what part of her body Ruby had used to do so; it was like she'd simply shifted away.

Yang wasn't going to let her go. Her offensive continued as she threw another punch, and another fireball jumped towards her sister. This time Ruby didn't dodge away. Instead, she grabbed one corner of her cloak and pulled hard, bringing it between herself and the fire like a shield. The dust stuck to the red fabric, spreading across it like it was a hard surface, and forming a layer of smoldering light.

As soon as the dust clung to the cloak, Ruby threw the garment back out of her way, but not removing it from her body. It flared up over her back, and almost made Yang lose focus on her target.

Yang kicked off the floor, cocking both arms back as she closed the last few paces between them. Ruby's eyes tracked her the whole way, and that sickening smile was still on her face. Yang felt her mouth open, and even though the room was still about as quiet as the grave, she could barely hear her own unintelligible scream over the roaring in her head.

Ruby still smiled, and put a hand up. For a second Yang thought she was readying some kind of attack, but then she saw that Ruby was beckoning.

Yang's teeth ground together, and her fists moved faster as her anger started to boil over.

Her arms jerked forward before she had even hit the ground, and the blast of both her gauntlets at once was enough to knock her back through the air. She was close enough to be able to actually hit Ruby as well, and felt the hard impact send vibrations all the way up her arm.

The two globs of dust melded together just before they hit Ruby, and Yang watched as her sister disappeared under the brilliant yellow glow. For several tense moments, Yang couldn't tell what had happened at all. Then, as the dust started to fade, her sister came back into view.

Ruby's entire front looked burned; her skin blackened and clothes smoking. The way she winced in pain showed that Yang had caused her pain at least, but she could already see the wounds healing. Charred flesh crumbled away, replaced by pink skin underneath, before returning to its normal pale a moment later.

"Ouch! That really stings, you know that? But still, you've gotta see what I'm trying to tell you, right? You can try as much as you want, but you really can't hurt me. All I want to do is show you what we can do. Imagine if we partnered up!"

Ruby started to walk towards Yang, her arms out like nothing was wrong.

"We could get places way beyond Patch! Show that Dracul guy who's boss. Come on, live the vampire life a little! You haven't even eaten yet! You're the one who always tried to get me to do new things, now I think you should try it!"

Yang looked down, and saw Ruby's distended stomach pushing against her black clothes. It would've been hard to believe if she hadn't seen it herself. That was what turned her into this monster, and she wasn't about to let herself fall into the same trap.

She lashed out again, fist starting low, and arcing up into Ruby's midriff. Before her sister could react, Yang had landed a solid hit. She felt her hand sink into the bloated stomach, and felt instantly repulsed by the sensation.

Ruby's jaw dropped, and a cascade of wet, warm, crimson fluid spilled out of her mouth. Yang felt it ooze across her arm, and heard it splashing against the ground. She wanted to think it was disgusting, but there was an urge to bring her arm closer to her mouth. Her eyes stuck on the blood for what almost seemed like minutes, until she felt something hit the top of her lip.

Instinctually, she put her tongue out to investigate what it was, and realized only when she felt its warmth that she'd made a grave mistake.

A coppery taste filled her mouth, and she gagged as she tried to keep from swallowing it. The muscles in her throat seemed to act on their own, doing everything they could to suck it down. She tried to spit out what she could, but she was only able to get about half of the drop.

The rest slid down her throat like a shard of hot lead, burning the whole way down to her stomach. As it went, Yang became all the more aware of the ache of hunger in her body. The blood was just enough to show her a glimmer of what it could be like to be sated.

She blinked, and realized that she had been standing stock still, completely distracted. Ruby had taken advantage of the situation and recovered from what little damage Yang had been able to do, and was approaching her again.

Yang shook her head, bringing her focus back to the battle at hand.

Ruby closed the distance between them fast, and lashed out with surprising ferocity. Sharp talons formed out of dark smoke at the tips her fingers, and Yang was forced to jerk her entire body out of the way to avoid being hit. Her feet briefly left the ground, and when they touched down again, it was difficult to keep her body from toppling over.

Ruby struck out again, her claws elongating to nearly the length of her forearm. Yang was ready this time, though, and pushed off the ground with as much force as she could manage.

She could feel the breeze of Ruby's claws on her legs as they just barely missed her. Yang moved in an arc over her sister, watching as she followed with her eyes. She realized that she was going to be very vulnerable as soon as she was back on the ground, and threw another punch. The force gave her a few more feet in her arc, letting her land further from Ruby, and the blast of dust itself made Ruby shield herself behind her cape again, preventing her from immediately striking out again.

She slid a few inches when she hit the ground and turned again to face Ruby, who was emerging from behind her flaming cloak with a scowl. Her claws were gone, and had left no trace that they had ever existed. some small part of Yang's mind wondered idly how she might be able to pull something like that off, but it was stifled quickly under the part that was trying to read Ruby's body language. She needed to predict what she was going to do next.

Ruby threw her hand out like she did the first time, and once more her arm stretched out to grab her. The black mass formed up, but instead of forming a claw it rolled into a giant ball. Yang was fast enough to avoid it and watched the giant mass crush the tiles she was just standing in. Spikes sprouted from random spots and Ruby whipped it around like a flail. Yang tried to shoot her gauntlets to avoid again, but was caught mid-shot, sending her across the room once more. Her body started to outrace the black form, causing her to slam into the wall without the crushing effect. She slid down the stone barrier only a few inches before Ruby's attack finally caught up. Instead of the massive black mass it was a moment before, it was now a narrow blade.

The breath in her lungs was forced out of her as the blade pierced straight through her body. Gravity continued its push on her, but her body didn't fall, leaving her dangling just off the ground, suspended by the black twisted looking blade. Her gaze followed it all the way back to Ruby, who strutting towards her the same way she had been before.

"I think the first thing we should do before we go out to the town is teach you some proper feeding techniques." Now standing just out of arm's reach of Yang. "Dracul said that if you let go of a person before they die they'll be turned into a vampire too eventually. Even if you kill them afterwards. I think he described it as our fangs having poison or something that does it, and we just drink the blood before it can spread our gift. So make sure you snap their neck or something before you let go to confirm the kill, Dracul said he'd be very angry if he found out I created another vampire… Actually, if you ever meet him, I didn't turn you; ok? He's kind of scary to be around, and I can't imagine what he'd be like if he was angry-"

"Shut up."

"What?"

"Shut up!" Yang roared, throwing her fist out. She didn't aim for Ruby this time. Her shot went wide and blasted a hole in the roof above them. Light instantly poured through the new portal right on them. Ruby hissed in pain and released Yang as the blade dissolved to nothing. She fell to the ground as well, screaming in pain, her skin burning like it had been set ablaze. Yang could feel the weight of the sun on her, but with no bare skin showing she was otherwise unhindered by its effects. Ruby reached out to drag herself out of the light, but her hand started to wither immediately upon entering into the light.

Yang stood over her, conflicted. On the one hand, she could end this right now by just leaving her, but it was still Ruby, and Ozpin did say there was a way to save her. Fully knowing her idea was going to backfire on her she pulled Ruby out of the sunlight with her own hands. Probably just in time too, as it looked like Ruby had been turned into a charred husk. She was still moving, and it seemed like she was crying in pain, but she was still alive. Yang rolled her over and placed her hands on both her shoulders.

"Ruby, are you ok? You're not going to die on me right?" Jaune, Blake, Weiss and the others were pitch still, probably waiting for Ruby to give them a command.

A sudden piercing feeling in her neck made her look back down. Ruby had her fangs dug in and a moment later a familiar feeling of her blood leaving her body came over Yang.

The empty, gnawing feeling of hunger intensified, and as Ruby sucked more of whatever she had left in her veins, she felt her muscles weaken. Her legs started to shake and her vision swam.

Her hands went to Ruby's head as she tried to push her off, but Ruby's jaws were like a steel trap. It was only when Yang felt like she was about to fall unconscious that she used Ember Celica again.

At such close range, and with Ruby in such a weakened state, its effect was devastating. Ruby's head jerked back, tearing some of Yang's flesh out with it. She could feel the fire lap the exterior of her clothes, but nothing caught.

Yang stumbled backwards, putting a hand to where Ruby had bitten. She hadn't just torn flesh away, she had taken out a large chunk of her scarf as well.

Coming here had been a mistake. Ozpin was right.

"I feel fine now, Yang." Ruby stated as her body started to restore itself to some form of working condition.

She turned, looking for the exit. Maybe if she hurried back, she could escape before Ruby recovered enough to order anyone to chase her.

Hurrying in a state like hers, though, was not an easy thing to do. Her best attempt at a run was more of a shamble as she made her way towards the door. All she had to do was get through the door, and she would be home free.

But she could already hear Ruby shouting after her, voice strained and tearing.

"Don't run away from me Yang! I won't let you go back! You have so much to learn, you won't stand a chance out there without me!"

Yang didn't look back. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to beat Ruby to the door, but she did have the ability to stall Ruby. Her eyes flicked to the side, and just on the edge of her peripherals, she could see the huge curtains that covered the windows that lined the whole room. If she could destroy one of those far enough away from Ruby, it would give her the perfect opportunity to get away.

She threw a wild punch, and the glow of dust met her eyes through the tinted visor. She could hear footsteps behind her now, and she thought they sounded like Ruby's. The hallways of holiday lights was getting closer and closer, she just had to make it a little further.

The massive curtain erupted in flame, the area that Yang had hit directly crumbling to ash, and the surrounding fabric bursting into flame.

A sharp stab of pain reminded Yang that she was missing a chunk of covering over her neck, and she was quick to slap a palm over it, face twisting into a grimace as she continued to drag herself forward.

A sudden screech from behind her told her that Ruby had stopped, but she still didn't look back. She had to escape.

When she finally did reach the hall, her body felt like solid lead. If she thought that her hunger had been bad before, it was torturous now. She tried her absolute best to ignore it, but her brain couldn't summon any other thoughts.

Every nerve in her body cried out in pain, and water started to fill her eyes. Before she pushed her way through the door, She stopped, taking a moment to breathe and glance behind her.

Ruby was standing at the far side of the room, staring at Yang with a sad expression. She held out a hand, like she was a little kid again, asking for something, and Yang could just barely hear over the sound of her own breathing, "Please, don't leave. I'll be alone again."

She turned away, not wanting to think about it. Her sister could be trying to play her again, or she could be sincere. Yang wasn't going to be tricked again.

The door opened, and she walked out into the light. She made sure to keep her hand pressed tightly on the hole in her clothes, and staggered out into the mid-day sun.

Her friends could be coming after her at any moment, and she didn't want to have to hurt them.

Her feet dragged as the doors drifted shut behind her, and Ruby was left in what Yang used to think of as a happy place.

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Author's Note:

As he always does, Leivve had a huge part in this chapter. I'd say he had a larger part in writing this one than the others, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for reading! all feedback always appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

Grey clouds hung over the small island of Patch, and while this might've been a minor annoyance to some, Yang felt like dropping to her knees and thanking whatever gracious deity had sent the shade. She knew that she probably wouldn't be able to get back up, though, and refrained.

Thinking was a difficult task in her state, a splitting headache made her wince every time her heels hit the hard black road that led away from Signal. Nevertheless, she tried to imagine the layout of the town, and where she might be able to slip through unnoticed. Ruby said that she had people under her control all over the place, and Yang believed her. She could remember the trip through the first time. It was strange to think that Ruby was even capable of doing something like this, and yet she was walking towards the prison-town.

Another jolt of pain stabbed through her forehead like a rusted blade, and she tried to put her hand to her temple before remembering that she still had her helmet on. She was certainly not comfortable. Her other hand was still glued to her neck, keeping the fleeting sunlight away.

She turned, walking backwards for a few paces and peering at the school. How far had she walked? A mile? Something like that. She could still easily see the spires of the school, but you could see those from almost anywhere on Patch.

A slow bit of movement caught her eye, and Yang squinted towards her old school, trying to make out what was going on. The large doors were opening, and several hunched figures filed out before closing again. Her eyes took several seconds to focus properly, but when they did, she could definitely recognize the distant shapes.

Blake, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren. She'd seen a few of them in Ruby's hall, but she knew all had to be under her control. She didn't know who she wanted to fight the least. She didn't want to hurt any of them, but chances were that if they caught her, she wasn't going to have a choice. She turned back around, and tried to move a little faster. Chances were that they hadn't noticed her, she was too far for a normal human to see, but they were going to be looking for her.

She looked down to her feet, hoping that she hadn't been leaving any kind of trail. She sighed in relief when she saw that she hadn't. At least something had gone right today.

She hoped that it wasn't the last thing. Though she would have to take the long way around the town to get to the docks. Hopefully Ozpin would have been assured of his claim that he would be waiting for her to say "I told you so."

A soft snap in the distance brought her back to alertness. Crushing grass followed suit making her guess there was someone else up ahead. She made a beeline off to the left the even longer way around town. She hoped Ruby would guess she was heading the docks and would go the other way while she tried to find a way to communicate with Ozpin… Her hand subconsciously moved to the pocket she normally left it in. She reminded herself she hadn't brought it, but was surprised when she felt something. Not pausing in her escape she pulled out a red emergency scroll, and remembered she had put it in her jacket almost a month ago because she couldn't find anywhere better for it.

As she ran she flipped open the device. The small red frame had a crack in the corner causing the screen to be a little fuzzy in the corner where the options and call button were, but save the function she actually needed, it was entirely functional.

"2 Voice messages, 51 Text Messages." She flipped up the screen to see the list of missed contacts. The first looked like some random business number, the second was from Ruby, dated six days ago. Looking at the text the first few were from her friends, mostly asking if she was alright, or where she was. The next 43 were from Ruby.

"Hey, you awake? Call me when you wake up."

"Are you mad? Please call me. :("

"I'm so bored. Wake up already! :("

"Please wake up! The guy who turned me is very mad that I'm alive still."

"So the the scary guy I mentioned is named Dracul. He said he wouldn't kill me so long as I leave Vale by tonight. I guess I'll head home. Meet you there! :D"

"Don't get mad, but I might be bringing Weiss, Jaune and everyone else with me. I don't want them getting hurt after all. ;)"

"Been a day, been real hungry for a couple days, but I found that jerk Oak from last year to fill me. He wasn't particularly tasty, but there are plenty of other people that smell good."

"Have you ever killed someone before? Who would have thought it could be so much fun! :D"

"I ripped this one hunter's throat out when he blew me off, there was blood everywhere, it was great! Come over whenever you want, I got plenty of people now for us to eat! ;p"

Yang stopped reading, seeing how the trend of messages went. She looked up and realized she didn't know where she was, but guessed she was in the center woods. Maybe she should try to find their house since she was already almost half way there.

She and Ruby had been told to avoid the woods, but the Grimm problem had gotten better over the past few years, no doubt due to the overnighters Ruby would have when she started at Signal. They weren't gone, but she was confident she wouldn't see any unless she went out looking for them.

She remembered the time that she'd dragged Ruby out somewhere in these woods, looking for her mom. She still felt ashamed whenever she thought about it.

She bet that no one would have guessed that those two sweet little girls had both been transformed into horrible bloodsucking monsters. Or at least, one of them had.

What would Summer think if she were here? Yang had nothing but warm memories about the woman, but it was hard to imagine what she would do if she found out what Ruby and Yang had become.

Yang couldn't help but wonder what her own mother would do. Would she still love her? Her dad insisted that she cared way too much for it to be a facade, which went along with it being strange that she would suddenly disappear. Yang had been the most precious thing in the world to her, but was that still true for a vampire?

She shook her head, trying to forget it. Nothing good ever came of those thoughts, she'd learned. She could worry about that later.

What would her dad think? Supposedly he was still out here fighting to stop Ruby, though she didn't know how much help he would actually be to her. Sure he was strong, as was Uncle Qrow; but this was Ruby. They would rather kill each other than hurt her. It seemed like Ozpin already knew how this would play out from the start. If she had listened to him, maybe Ruby would be back to normal by now; and maybe that women would still be alive. But no, she had to be stubborn and thick headed like she always was.

Her fist collided with her helmet as she tried to punch herself, but the headgear held firm, designed to take blows even stronger than what she just delivered.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She shouted as she fell to her knees so she could punch the earth. Her neck wound singed when it met contact with the obscured light above. She didn't pay it any mind, the pain for some reason making her focus. Power rushed through her body, letting her stand on her feet renewed with strength.

She sensed something watching her, but there was no scent, or even heartbeat. She turned to see two glowing eyes staring back at her. It was a Beowolf, a rather small one too. The spikes were mere stubs, with teeth that only slightly larger than her own fangs. She had seen a few young beowolves like this one before, but they were more vermin than "threats to humanity." It approached her slowly. It wasn't growling or even bearing its teeth. It seemed like it was more curious of her than anything.

"What? Attack me! I'm human! I'm not a monster!" She yelled at it.

That seemed to assure the little rat she was in fact prey. It leaped at her, going right for the throat, only to be lazily snatched out of the air. She held it in front of her by the scruff of its neck, spending a moment to watch it claw and kick at her; determined to win. She sighed in slight relief, at least the Grimm still thought she was human, even if they could notice a small change. Her free gauntlet unfolded from its bracelet form before leveling itself at the wolf's head.

She hesitated when a thought came to her mind. She and Ruby were very closely skilled before, yet now Ruby could beat her even without Crescent Rose, like she had a couple years on her. If she was to beat Ruby she'd need to learn to use her new powers to the same extent as Ruby did. Otherwise she'd be just dead weight to Ozpin when it came time for her to help him, and even more so against this "Dracul" character. He must be powerful, as neither Ozpin nor Ruby could beat him.

Yang heard growling to her right and looked over to see a large pack of Grimm in a clearing nearby, waiting to see what she did, but clearly with plans to fight her.

"Oh good, you guys will make much better practice than this runt." She commented before lightly tossing the pup in the air. It gave a small yelp, but was silenced by Yang before gravity even started to send it back to the ground. A number of Beowolves were already sprinting toward Yang ready to fight, but many more hung back, waiting and watching for something.

The first of the pack got within arm's reach, and she lashed out, her fist swinging around and catching the monster in the base of the jaw. There was a loud crack, and it was knocked to the side, body already limp and smoking. She didn't have time to admire her work, though, as the next of the monsters came forward.

Long talons and bleached white teeth came whirling towards her in an animalistic flurry, but it all felt slow to Yang. She knew how fast beowolves could normally move, and was even aware that this particular pack was moving with a slightly above average speed. Why, then, did they seem to hang in the air so long?

She took full advantage of the situation. Her own limbs still felt heavy and sluggish, so maybe it was a balanced fight. One particularly aggressive member of the pack leapt at her from a few paces away, intent on getting a takedown immediately. Its path made clear that it was going for her throat, and Yang's fists tightened as she pulled her body to the side, reaching out with her arms.

She caught the beast by its head, one hand at the bottom of its muzzle, and the other at the back of its head. The beast's momentum made it hard not to be pulled along with it, but her feet were firmly planted. Anger washed over her like a tidal wave, and her body turned ninety degrees, arms shifting to keep a hold on her prey. Without thinking, she put her weight on one leg, and brought the Grimm arcing over her head, crashing into the dirt with bone crushing force. She immediately shifted weight to the other leg, and did the same to the other side. Each impact was punctuated with a word spat through clenched teeth.

"Enough-"

Yelp.

"-with-"

Snap.

"-my-"

Thud.

"-neck!"

She moved one foot forward, and used her new stance to pivot into a swing, letting go of the corpse and watching it spin through the air before crumpling in front of the rest of the group.

This caused a moment of delay as the Grimm followed the flight of their friend.

A small grin slid across Yang's face. Now it was her turn.

She charged head first towards the nearest Grimm, nearly exploding out of her standstill. Ember Celica jetted out a fiery stream of dust propelling her forward, and she twisted midair to make sure that she would do as much damage as possible.

Her feet hit the head of the Grimm, and she kicked out as hard as she could. its neck snapped back, and most of her momentum went with it. She dropped down to the earth, and found that a circle had quickly formed around her. She could see every long strand of saliva and mucus dripping from their jaws, and their chests heaving as they panted hard, breath steaming up in the chilled air.

The circle didn't last for long as whatever hollow form of fear the Grimm felt faded away, and they continued to throw themselves at her. A swipe at her back made Yang spin, reaching out faster than her attacker could react and landing a blow squarely on the outside of its thick elbow.

The joint snapped like a twig, and Yang pulled it forward before kicking its legs out from under it and kicking its head. The skull caved in under her boot, and she turned to find her next victim already lunging towards her. The large claws of the Beowolf were already too close to dodge or evade. They wrapped around her midriff and pulled her up several feet off the ground. One of Yang's arms was caught against her side, and the other was pushing fruitlessly at the massive fingers.

The Beowolf pulled her closer and gave an almost concussive roar, flecks of spit spattering across her helmet. As the howl came to a crescendo she felt like her ears were about to pop. The sensation didn't quite register like pain though, more like an annoying buzz, and she was glad for that.

She abandoned her attempts to loosen its grip, and instead threw a punch into the creature's gaping mouth. She was close enough that she felt her fist become engulfed in soft, wet tissue before she fired.

A gout of sizzling blood and dark chunks of meat erupted out the back of the Grimm's throat, long tongues of flame licking at their edges as they went.

Yang might've appreciated the sight, were it not for the searing pain in her hand.

The Grimm's body slacked, dropping her to the earth far less gracefully than she had the first time. She clutched her hand close to her chest, and after feeling the hot fire threaten the rest of her body, did her best to smother the flame.

She was so distracted by the fire that she didn't notice the Beowolf creeping up behind her. She felt the claws of the Grimm slicing into her back.

Her body tipped forward, but she brought her arms out, rolling forward out of reach.

She sprang back to her feet, turned, and shook her hand, sending a small cascade of black ash to the dirt. All of this was well and good, but it wasn't anything she couldn't do normally. She needed to find her limits, and see what she could do with her new powers.

Another Beowolf started to lunge forwards, but she wasn't paying much attention. She was thinking about how Ruby had fought. It was like her sister had made her body itself into weapons. It was a lot more flexible than what Yang had, and clearly more effective. What could she do, though? She didn't know how to do any of the things her sister had.

She had to start somewhere though, and she had the feeling that simpler would be better. When she'd flown back at Beacon she'd had to focus on getting where she wanted to go. Maybe she just needed to do that now.

The Grimm sped towards her, and her attention returned to the immediate danger. She leaned back, letting the claws swipe past. It missed by such a small margin that Yang could feel the top layer of her clothes shift. As soon as she could, she struck out at the Grimm, not very sure about what she was doing. She felt the bones and flesh of her fingers shift around, but didn't stop to look down.

On instinct, she slashed out at the Grimm, and was surprised to find that the Grimm stumbled back, belly open and organs spilling out.

She looked down at her hand and only caught the briefest wisp of black smoke flit away from her hand. She pulled her thoughts back to the fight in time to avoid another slash. The Beowolf aimed high, forcing Yang to duck, and made a follow up attack before she could right herself up. She leapt back to disengage before returning to concentrating to change her shape.

It came a little easier, knowing what she was actually trying to do this time, but it still required a lot of focus. This time she saw a black ooze pool around her wrist before running along her hand to form a simple spike. Trying to get a little fancy, she thrust her new weapon out toward the charging Beowolf. As she wanted, the sharp point flew forward till it pierced through the Grimm's head. Despite performing the feat, she wasn't satisfied. It was taking way too much focus to shapeshift, let alone to actually fight with it. She felt like she was twelve again learning just how to hold a sword for the first time. It would probably take time for her to get a hang of this, but the foes she was going to face weren't going to hold back just because she was new to all this.

Willing to finish this fight, she let the black spike dissipate into smoke while she threw her other fist forward. It took a moment for her attack to actually follow suit, but once more another black spike raced forward. When it was halfway to its target, Yang once more tried to push her limit, and had it split to kill two of the remaining three wolves. One tried to dodge but was still caught while the other ran right into it. The third, seeing a moment to strike, leapt high into the air, paw raised high to deliver a devastating blow.

Yang could easily kill it, but wanted to try that strange mist form of hers again. It took a little longer then she wanted and required her to close her eyes to block out distractions, but she finally could feel the familiar feeling come over her. Opening her eyes she saw the Grimm already on the ground slashing at her with an animalistic ferocity. She moved herself forward and was glad of the result when she passed through it effortlessly. The monster ceased its attacks when it realized it wasn't having any effect and instead took a more defensive stance.

Despite not having a shape anymore, she could feel a headache coming on and soon her concentration was broken, and she started reverting her back to her physical form. She fell to a knee and panted softly as a feeling of weakness came over her.

Seeing its chance the Grimm before her rushed forward. Yang eyed it as it ran on all fours. Once in range, it lunged, mouth open and reaching for her throat. Yang swiftly stood and delivered a devastating uppercut to the wolf's jaw. A thunderous bang fired off and the smoking form of the Grimm went flying high over the tree line, before crashing back down far out of sight.

"What did I just say about the neck!"

A crack of thunder pulled her back into the world. It was still going to be a few minutes, but it was certainly about to rain. After a quick orientation of her direction she charged forward toward the northern edge of the island. The weakness she had felt when she fled from Signal was now gone. No doubt due to the flight of the sun.

She needed more practice with her powers, doubting she would be able to use them in an actual fight with a competent opponent. For now though, she'd have to stick with her tried and true method of punching things till they broke.

It felt like an hour before she was satisfied with the progress she'd made, and the fading corpses of her Grimm attackers as well as the shattered remains of tree trunks and stumps. She'd tested out the best of what she could do, but still knew she was way behind Ruby.

All of the shapeshifting had taken its toll on her, though. She felt tired still, but knew she needed to move. Ruby would probably be sending her minions to the woods now, and her efforts had made a lot of noise. If they were anywhere within ear shot Ruby would probably know where she was going.

Her pace had increased as the sky grew darker and her body recovered its energy. Her mouth and throat felt like sandpaper, but she had no intention of curing her discomfort. She could still picture that woman's face clearly as it practically deflated.

She couldn't help but wonder if she had looked like that when Ruby attacked her. She'd been able to put up much more of a fight, but Ruby had also been a lot weaker back then. It felt like such a long time ago that she'd been worrying about her sister's diet and social life. She still was, in a way, worried about her diet. Just in a radically different way.

Rain fell against her helmet, but the visor was open and her face was exposed to the cool air. She could feel her skin growing irritated but relished the opportunity to breathe something other than the stale air inside the mask.

She was soaked thoroughly, thought she hardly took any notice of it. There was barely any heat in her body to sap anyways, and the weight of the water was nothing.

The trees that surrounded her started to thin out, and she spied familiar places. Ruby had loved to play out in these woods, but they'd never been allowed to go very deep in. They never should have been anyways, but Yang had hated that restriction when she was little. There had been a few times she'd snuck out when everybody else was asleep, but she never even got out of sight of the house on her own.

She looked up. The layer of leaves between her and the clouds was thinning, and even with the thick clouds, she would have to put her visor down again.

The ground was starting to slope down, a sure sign that she was getting closer to the coast, and that meant she was getting closer to home. She always felt good when she came back, but this time she wouldn't be using the long, twisty path that lead back to the cottage.

She reached up and slid the visor down, breathing one last gulp of the smooth rain-filled air before starting to make her way down.

Under normal conditions the sharp drop in front of the tree line was treacherous to navigate thanks to countless roots and rocks sticking out of the hill. In the rain it was almost impossible to say upright. Yang had more capabilities than the average person, though, and was able to slide down the slippery mud slope without any issue.

Now that she was out of the canopy, she could see just how heavily it was raining. Thick sheets of driving ocean storm swept across the island, and Yang was immediately almost blinded and deafened by the water hammering against her mask.

The familiar soft glow of light from square windows she always saw when her or Ruby were out, were black. Wind and rain never scared her too much, but it had taken Ruby until she was eight years old to keep from burrowing into blankets and hiding. She tried to push the memories out of her mind, at least for the moment. She didn't want to think about it now.

The wind buffeted her body, threatening to rip her helmet off her head or scarf off her neck. She grabbed at both, making sure they didn't get sucked away.

The house itself seemed quite, a sanctuary of peace in a turbulent storm. Yang felt her spirits raise ever so slightly at this. She'd been looking forward to finding someone she knew who wasn't mind-controlled or a vampire.

Nothing but muck sliding down the slope had followed, making her realize something positive about her situation. The weather might suck, but at least it would hide her tracks. For the most part, anyways. The evidence of that fight wouldn't be erased by a simple downpour.

As she got a clear look, she realized that the lights weren't actually on. Her mind had played tricks on her, or there had been some glint of light on her visor. She tried to bite back her disappointment and anger, holding out just a little bit of hope.

Her knuckles rapped on the wooden door and she stepped back, waiting for some response. Nothing came but guessing from the lights being out she guessed that her dad and uncle weren't home. She didn't honestly expect them to be, but it never hurt to try. She took a step back before jumping up to one of the support beams that held up the overhang. She hung from it for a second, feeling around until she felt the familiar metal touch of the house key. She dropped back down in front of the door and turned it in the lock. There wasn't a clicking noise so she turned it the other way. The sound of the lock sliding in place hinted that the door had already been unlocked before she arrived. Typical Ruby, must have stopped by for one reason or another and forgot to lock up. When this was over she was going to have to have some stern words about that.

The door pushed back to reveal the entire house was perfectly clean.

"Guess dad was right. We were the ones who kept this place trashed, not Qrow."

She didn't pause on that thought for long, walking over to the phone on the kitchen wall she dialed up Ozpin's number.

"Tai? Is that you?"

"No, it's me Yang."

"Oh I must say that took a while, I was actually starting to think that something had happened to you."

"You were right. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I guess I just get a-"

"It's all right. I remember when I went running off to kill my first vampire."

"I'm done being stupid. I'm at my house, can you pick me up? I think Ruby has the entire island looking for me so I can't go to the docks where you dropped me off."

"I'm circling the island now, I'll be there in just a few minutes."

Yang hung up before walking through her house. The storm gave it a grey, gloomy appearance. She considered turning on one of the lights just to bring in some color to the house, but considered it moot if she was going to be leaving in just a few minutes. She took a turn up the stairs and headed to the second floor. Taiyang's room was kept in near perfect order the rack that held his weapon and his combat uniform was gone; as was the picture of her and Ruby standing together, and the image of Summer. She walked over to the small desk in the room hoping he might have left a note somewhere, but after a little searching, the only thing she found of note was a rather inappropriate picture of Summer tucked away in the bottom drawer and a binder with a bunch of newspaper comics he liked enough to keep.

She felt a twinge of emotional pain that nothing had been left for her, but it made sense. Her father probably thought she was dead. Maybe she was, but she was still kicking. She needed to save Ruby, make sure her dad and uncle were alright, and bring the family back together.

She walked out of her father's room and down the hall to her and Ruby's rooms. They were directly across from another, and Ruby's door hung open slightly while hers was firmly shut. Her dad would have been sure to close both, so Ruby must have made a special trip. She was tempted to peek inside, reaching for the door handle, but hesitated just before touching it. Maybe it would be best to distance herself from those memories for now.

She turned to look at the door to her own room, sighing. She couldn't visit home without at least looking around there.

It was almost exactly as she had left it, posters of hot boy bands whose music was terrible and a variety of advertisements for movies she'd never seen, but looked to contain some explosion-packed action and trashy plot about saving the world. The rest was littered with nothing of note, wrappers, clothes she'd forgotten to pack or simply never picked up, and more than a few other pieces of garbage. Her dad had given up on keeping this room clean years ago.

There was nothing she particularly wanted to see again, it was all just stuff. Ruby was the one who collected sentimental items. There were a few more interesting pieces buried in the filth somewhere, exotic drinks she wasn't supposed to have, small gifts from friends, probably a few teachers' hubcaps from pranks she'd forgotten to return, but none of that could really help.

She heard the sound of engines through the driving rain, and turned away, walking back down the hall quickly. The sooner she could get down to business, the better.

When the Bullhead made a soft landing on the sand, she gave no pause about running towards it and jumping into the cabin before taking a seat, and yelping in surprise when she found Ozpin sitting across from her. His fingers were interlaced, his chin resting on top and his cane underneath. His eyes gazed in her direction, but she got the feeling he was looking through her, not directly at her.

He didn't speak, but he didn't need to. His eyes said it all.

He gave a soft tap on the metal wall, and the aircraft started to lift into the air again, chunks of wet sand and cold sea foam being thrown in every direction. The hull lurched as the landing gear started to fold back, and the ground started to retreat. Yang sat in silence for a moment as they started to pull away from the beach, then stood abruptly and went to the open door.

The house was fading away, practically gone already thanks to the rain, and Yang cursed to herself as she remembered something.

"Damn door…"

She remembered she wasn't alone, and turned to find Ozpin raising an eyebrow at her.

"I left my door… never mind, it doesn't matter."

He humphed to himself and for the first time since her change actually broke a smile.

"I guess it's just part of hunting your first vampire."

.

Author's Notes:

As per the norm with this story, Leivve is absolutely essential. Thanks man!


	6. Chapter 6

Yang sat across from Ozpin, her helmet in her lap and her feet tapping impatiently. It was difficult to concentrate. Ozpin had been speaking to her for what felt like a long time, but she kept herself from looking at the clock. A fire burned in her muscles that made sitting still impossible. After a few moments Ozpin spoke louder, grabbing her attention again.

"Yang, are you listening to me?"

She jumped, remembering that she was supposed to be paying close attention. Her eyes flicked back to Ozpin, and she nodded. He sighed and leaned forward in his seat, placing his elbows on his desk.

"I'm sure I don't need to remind you that you're going to be around large numbers of normal humans. If you think that your vampiric instincts may be too much to bear, tell me now. The last thing that this city needs is another vampire running rampant through the streets."

Yang shook her head vigorously, not wanting him to think she was losing herself to the same madness that had claimed Ruby. The mere thought made her sick to her stomach. She wasn't going to do anything like that. No matter how much blood Ruby sucked from her, she wasn't going to become a monster.

"No! I'm good, I'm ready. It's just hard to keep myself focused. I'm not going to go around killing people, if that's what you mean. I'm not that crazy. It took Ruby like a week to get to that point, right?"

Ozpin shook his head. " Not exactly. It took her a while to drink for the first time, but after that she started feeding without a second thought. I don't know why exactly, but vampires' fangs have a venom in them that causes them to turn their victims. They normally suck out the venom as they drink which keeps it from getting into their body, which is why not everyone who is bitten turns. This venom is also highly addictive to vampires, and a single taste can cause them to only think about getting more. My guess is that it's some sort of survival strategy to help break them from their personal feelings about killing another human so they can properly feed themselves; but that's only a guess."

Yang felt her jaw drop slightly at his explanation. Was it really as simple as that? A simple matter of addiction had turned Ruby into a monster, and threatened to do the same to her? She had to take a few deep breaths, and suddenly felt much less accepting about the sharp white spikes in her mouth. She thought about reaching up and tearing them out of her mouth.

"I don't think that'll work, if you're thinking what I think you are. If anything, you'll just be exposing yourself to the venom directly without any blood to dilute it. I've never seen it myself, but my instructor explained that if a vampire "overdoses" on the venom the withdrawal from after the drug stops affecting them causes them to go insane, turning them into mindless killing machines that will attack anything that moves."

Yang gave a frustrated sigh before saying, "I just can't win, can I? It really seems like this whole thing is just pointless!"

Ozpin held his hands up, a slightly more distressed look coming across his face.

"Perhaps it may seem that way, but you cannot let yourself fall into a trap like that. I know my teachers didn't train you to give up when things seem dire. If they did, perhaps I should rethink a few of their employments."

"No, they didn't…" She growled slightly under her breath. "Alright, but we have to be fast then. do you know where this guy is?

"He drops off the radar disturbingly frequently, but I have noted a pattern in his hunting patterns. He seems to favor more upscale bars and pubs. I've tracked him to one five star restaurant in particular several times, but there's nothing that might suggest-"

"We're going."

The grim tone to her voice was absolute, and Ozpin was somewhat surprised by the flame in her eyes. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sway her. She'd realized how close she was to the edge, where she was in the grand scheme of things. He knew that she wouldn't let herself rest until she got results. No matter what it took.

Ozpin nodded in response, not speaking yet. She needed time to calm down. setting out with her in a state like this would be disastrous for everyone involved, and besides, the vampire wouldn't be there now anyways. He only appeared in the open after sundown, which would be a wise tenant for Yang to follow too. He felt that expecting her to do so would be a tad too optimistic, though.

Yang glared at Ozpin for several moments, and he got the general feeling she was holding something back. The two stared at one-another for several tense seconds, then Ozpin pushed himself up from his chair, turning to face the tinted window behind him.

"You know, Yang, I've been fighting vampires for much longer than you might think. I was around your age when I started, I think." He gave a small chuckle to himself. "Perhaps it's difficult to imagine me at such a young age, but I assure you, there was such a time. While situations like the one your sister is in may be uncommon, it's far from the first time it has happened. The addition of you being turned into a vampire complicates things, of course, but I still believe that the situation is manageable. All I need, is a little cooperation."

He could see Yang's reflection in the window as she glared, thought for a moment, then seemed to loosen up.

"Why do you hide all of this? The vampire stuff, I mean. If you had all the Huntsmen and Huntresses working with you, couldn't you make sure there are no vampires?"

A small smile drifted across Ozpin's lips as he remembered suggesting much the same thing, years ago. He'd studied history quite a bit since then, and knew why that was not a good idea.

"Tell me, does the term 'witch hunt' mean anything to you? I should think Bartholomew still teaches it, but it may be later in the year."

"No, not really. Is this about Ruby's books again?"

"In a way, perhaps. Ancient stories of wicked people twisting the world to their whim used to be believed, but not always with reason. Fear is a powerful thing, and it can drive even the most stout of individuals to hysteria. People make rash decisions, or seek to manipulate that fear, and soon enough a whole new issue can be born. Those who seek reasons to hate never come back empty handed."

Yang stared at the back of his head, but the anger and impatience in her face was gone. Now she was thinking about what he said. He was glad to see he could still be a teacher.

"You think people would make mistakes? Call someone out as a vampire and go after them, then everyone just turns against them like that? Without even having any proof?"

Ozpin's brow darkened.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I've seen it. it doesn't end well."

Memories of a much more bitter kind started to return, and he quickly focused his eyes on the glass, counting the buttons on his coat in his head. The room was silent for a few moments before Yang spoke again.

"So… where is this place? in town, I hope?"

He sighed, and supposed that he should be glad for the distraction.

"Yes, it's not far. We should wait until evening, though. Showing up early will do us no favors, especially considering he may recognize you. Vampires have a strange ability to recognize their own. Long ago I managed to talk to one, and she explained that it's not some magical signal in their mind, but a collection of subtle signs that give them a suspicion. Probably simple things like not detecting a pulse or their scent or something. I'm not sure, she wasn't a vampire for very long and didn't know much about her abilities to begin with. I'm afraid she wasn't much for talking after our chat."

Yang nodded, trying to recall anything like that about Ruby. Nothing immediately sprang from her memory, but that was understandable. She had been rather heavily distracted at the time, so failing to notice a few minute details like that wasn't much of a big deal. She was sure she'd be able to pick up on this other guy. There was no way he was getting away with what he'd done to Ruby.

Waiting, however, proved to be her greatest challenge yet. She could feel a fire burning in her mind and soul, and couldn't hold her body still. Time seemed to pass slower than it was supposed to, and most of it was passed in silence. Ozpin did paperwork on his desk. Professor Goodwitch came in a few times, giving Yang suspicious glances out of the corners of her eyes and speaking in hushed tones with Ozpin, and for the most part Yang glared out the tinted windows, hoping the sun would hurry up and go away.

After a while, she looked over her shoulder and asked, "How is killing this vampire guy going to help Ruby?"

Ozpin looked up slightly confused, clearly not having payed attention when she started.

"You have said stopping this vampire will help Ruby, but you didn't say how."

"Oh yes, you ran off before I could explain. It's actually really simple." Stopping only for a brief second as he took a sip from his mug."You see, Vampires have families. There is the head of the family, who makes his children, and then those vampires can make their own children. So yes, if you're thinking it right now, you are technically this vampire's granddaughter. As I was saying, if you kill a vampire, their children will revert back to being human. I've always been able to take care of the problem before they could make grandchildren, so though I'm confident you will also return to life; I can't make any promises."

"Well, I guess that's a good sign. How does one become the "head of the family" if just killing the original reverts anything? Does that just mean there is one super old vampire that you could kill and just eradicate all of them?"

"No, sadly there is a way to break away from a family and make your own. If you drink the blood of the vampire who turned you, very specifically only your parent's blood, then you'll become independent of their fate. Most vampires live out in the wild parts of the world, only the strongest even try getting close to one of the kingdoms because they know me and the other members of 'The Order' are always on lookout. Sadly, in recent years our numbers have started to thin, and many of us are getting too old to keep fighting powerful vampires like the one who's come to Vale. There are very strict parameters for recruiting new members, and unfortunately we have been too successful in recent decades, so the major source of getting new recruits has been a dry well."

"I'm guessing this 'Order' is secret society and such, so is it to intrusive if I ask what that major source is?"

"In your case, no it's not. One of the major requirements to join is to have been exposed to a vampire. Whether it be having seen one feeding or performing some other act, or to be almost a victim. Though actually being a victim can get you in as well, we tend to be more cautious after the first incident centuries ago when a recruit turned traitor to try gaining favor with a vampire so they could return to being one as well."

"I see..." Her voice trailed off and she assumed the discussion was over, returning to looking out the window. Ozpin took notice of the orange sun and addressed Yang after taking a sip of his coffee on the desk.

"Restock your equipment and prepare to head out. It'll be night time, so dress more casually. Walking around with a helmet on all the time will bring more attention than we want. I'll prepare our Bullhead. We'll take off the moment the sun dips under the horizon. It may still be extremely painful, but after the sun disappears from sight it will stop being lethal."

Yang nodded and walked off to the elevator. After pushing the button for the ground floor she took a moment to glance back at Ozpin. He was looking at her, and appeared to be in deep thought. Before she could ask what he was thinking about, the doors closed on her.

When she'd made herself ready, she glanced around the empty dorm room again before casting her eyes towards the window. The sun was about halfway hidden by the horizon, and still falling. It wouldn't be long before she was able to go out again, and she was practically tearing her hair out waiting. She spent most of the time opening and closing the curtains, looking through the visor of her helmet so it didn't burn her.

When the time finally came, she rushed down and burst out the door to the dorm. She could immediately feel the pain Ozpin had told her about, skin tingling as it caught light reflected from the air.

It wasn't necessarily painful, but she could definitely feel a greater sensitivity in her flesh. She felt tender, more vulnerable, but it was manageable.

Ozpin was waiting outside, leaning on his cane and looking Yang up and down. She'd made sure she was good enough looking to pass for a normal person, doing what she could about her pale complexion, but she knew she still looked a little dead-ish.

Still, she was presentable enough to avoid suspicion. Ozpin looked her over for a few moments before turning and walking slowly where their Bullhead was waiting, allowing Yang to catch up.

She got the feeling he wanted her to talk, but she didn't know what to say.

They boarded the craft without any trouble, and after a short exchange with the pilot, Ozpin took a seat across from Yang. The Bullhead lifted off into the air, and the bulkhead doors slid shut.

Yang breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the pressure of the light be lifted away, then looked back up at Ozpin.

"What does this guy look like? How will we know for sure when we find him?"

Ozpin gave her a strange look for a moment before saying, "He could look like anyone. I believe your sister has shown you the immense pool of powers vampires can draw on, but she lacks experience, and a full understanding of what she has. Out friend out here has been a vampire longer than either of us could know, and he's taken full use of that time to practice. He will no doubt try to throw us off his track if he knows we are coming, and I suspect that he may already be aware of that."

an irritated feeling gnawed at the edge of Yang's mind. Ozpin was only trying to be honest, she knew, but did he have to be so damn pessimistic? She was going to find this vampire, and grind him into nothing but a fine red paste. She just needed to find out where he was, and she needed Ozpin for that.

The Bullhead ride lasted a few minutes, and she knew it was over when the hull jerked and the landing gear screeched. Ozpin pulled himself out of the seat and moved towards the doors, and Yang followed as they slid open again, and flinched as the light hit her again.

Ozpin looked over his shoulder to make sure she was coming, then stepped off into the cool air. As Yang followed, she was quickly greeted by the sight of the many rooftops of Vale. The Bullhead had touched down on the top of a tall building, and already, Ozpin was walking towards what looked like a fire escape.

She spoke as they walked, looking back at the small landing pad that they'd come down on. It was fairly small and unassuming, so Yang supposed that it would be a good place for what they were doing.

"Is this just some random roof, or do you actually own it?"

Ozpin smirked before replying, "The school owns the building. There are many through the city, it simply makes it a little easier for things to be moved around."

Yang nodded, thankful that she hadn't had to walk the distance. She came to the edge of the rooftop, and gazed down at the bustling streets below. It was a popular part of town, so there were plenty of people out and about, in spite of the growing lateness.

Ozpin started down the stairs, and she followed, keeping an eye on the crowd below the whole time. If she was careful, maybe she could pick up on the vampire early, and drop down from above. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She followed Ozpin closely, using her hearing to guide her as she reached out with her sense.

It was still early in the evening so there were still lots of people walking about. Though all the noise she couldn't make out any scents, or hear anything out of the ordinary. After they arrived at the bottom Ozpin instructed her to look about the bars and other hangouts people go to during the night. He was going to check out the higher-class areas. .

"Don't expect to find him in one night. There are lots of people out, and he can easily blend in as anyone he wants."

Yang had nodded, but only as a formality. She had every intention of finding him tonight. They parted ways and Yang immediately headed to the first place she would guess the vampire might be. It would also be the best place to get some underground information.

She walked to the next district in the city and quickly found her way to a familiar nightclub. The doors slid aside and the bouncer inside almost immediately reached for a baton on his waist when he noticed her. He didn't make any sudden moves, so Yang ignored her as she walked past. The dance floor was already starting fill with a small crowd, though for the most part it still looked like the many goons that staffed the place were still setting up for the night. A few saw her and gave her ugly looks but she paid them no mind. She was more than capable of taking them on. She approached the bar in the back and saw who she was looking for sitting there. He was in the process of cracking open a bottle of whisky with two glasses already set out in front of him with ice.

"Alright Blondie, what do you want this time?" His voice sounded slightly agitated while he poured the first glass for himself.

"I'm looking for a man."

"That seems to be the theme with you." He retorted, taking a swig from his glass before he tried filling the second.

"You know what goes on in the shady parts of town. Have there been any disappearances connected to a single person?"

"Yeah there's been a spree killer on the loose for a few days now, I think the news is calling him Jack the R-"

"No, not just some killer. A guy who kills in a very specific way." She interjected, "He sucks the blood out of the bodies."

Junior finished pouring the glass before looking up at her, a sarcastic sneer on his face.

"That's called a 'modus operandi' kid. Besides, what is the guy? One of those 'vampires' from a fairy tale? Sounds like you should go to the library or something, not bother me about this…"

He reached for the glass as he spoke, but just as the glass left the smooth tabletop, Yang's hand pushed it back down.

"I've got a lot on my mind right now, so maybe you shouldn't piss me off tonight. keep it up, and last time I was here will seem like a holiday visit."

Junior leaned back, folding his arms and letting the drink go. "Alright, fine. Yeah, people have gone missing like that, but I don't know anything about the guy who's snatching them up. I don't even know if it's one person. People disappear, and smart people don't ask why. Maybe you should follow suit."

Yang knew he was trying to get under her skin, but she didn't let it get to her. Why, then, the glass she was still pressing to the table shattered, was a mystery to her. Shards of glass stabbed into her hand, and while it didn't hurt, she jerked slightly in surprise. Junior did the same, and his eyes flicked down.

She took the opportunity to hide her confusion, deciding she could still salvage the situation. She started picking glass out of her hand slowly, staring Junior down as she did so. Only whisky dripped from the wounds.

"Smart people don't ask question. But smarter people know when to give answers."

Her words didn't seem to have the effect on him that she hoped, but her mindless action of removing the glass from her hand still managed to convince the giant of a man.

"Alright look. I don't ask who the punk is. I don't ask why or how; but I do know where. He tends to dump the bodies in the river down by the residential district just under the overpass. There's no pattern to when he does it. All I know about that is that my boys get the blame."

She picked the last of the shards from her flesh and let them fall to the bar, taking enjoyment from the fading color of his face. She flashed him a smile as she turned to leave, but hesitated when he raised an eyebrow.

"You a fan of his or something? It'd explain those teeth, and why you seem to like beating my guys to hell."

Yang turned quickly, closing her mouth and walking faster towards the exit. She could feel the eyes of Junior's goons on her, but she still didn't acknowledge them. She had to get to Ozpin, and tell him what she'd learned.

Or, alternatively, she could go and check out the river herself.

She shook her head. Stupid thinking like that was why she'd almost been killed by Ruby, she couldn't let it happen again. She needed his experience, and admittedly more level headed thinking.

She reached for her scroll, looking forward to having someone on her side for a change.

* * *

Author's note:

Thanks to Leivve for the help, and as always, leave a review telling what you thought!


	7. Chapter 7

Yang exited the bar, no one even giving her a second look. The sun was fully down now, though the moon still had a little higher to go into the night sky. Her scroll rang once before Ozpin picked it up.

"Yang? Did you find something?"

"Yes, I think I have a lead. He didn't say it was a vampire specifically, but it does sound like it could be our man."

"Good. I'm right around the corner."

"You are?" She asked confused more so that he knew where she was.

"Yes, that contact I mentioned? It was junior too." His voice now coming from two directions if yang was hearing right, "But when we parted I saw you were going the way I actually needed to, and thought it would be awkward to then turn around and join you after splitting up."

Yang's expression broke into a smile for a few seconds as she rounded the corner to see the professor there waiting like he said. They shared a quick smile with the other, before she remembered the gravity of the situation.

"We're going to check it out now, right? So what happens if we find the vampire? Do we just take him on then and there?"

Ozpin dropped his smile and shook his head. "No, finding him is only the start. After that, we will follow him to a secluded place, where we can confront him." He gestured for her to take the lead, while he followed. "We can't risk anyone stumbling upon this fight, as they could be either witnesses or used by Dracul to bolster his own strength. You will have a difficult fight ahead of you, but remember; we may not see him tonight. Don't get your hopes too high, hunting vampires requires patience."

Yang's eyes rolled, but she kept from speaking. He knew, of course, that patience was not her strong suit. She didn't need to say anything.

The two started to walk quickly, Ozpin's cane clicking against the pavement rhythmically as he went. Yang tried her best to contain herself, but she couldn't keep her pace from rising, and before she knew it, she was about to leave Ozpin behind. It took a great deal of effort to keep from rushing away as they got closer to the river. Gradually, the buildings changed from lit up store windows and restaurants to dark apartment windows and much emptier streets.

She could hear the river far before she could see it, and she could smell it, too. The sound of rushing water and the light scent of garbage met her senses, and she felt herself perk up, becoming more attentive of her surroundings. She could even hear Ozpin's breathing and his heartbeat.

Her mouth felt dry, and cramps started to rack her body again. A few muscles in her fingers and stomach twitched painfully, and her eyes drifted to Ozpin's neck. She knew what she needed, but…

A sharp intake of breath punctuated the jerk of her head forward as she realized what it was she was thinking about. No matter how much her body turned against her, she couldn't let herself turn to that. No amount of pain could turn her into a monster. She couldn't let it.

If Ozpin noticed her sudden tensing, he didn't say anything about it.

When they reached the riverbank, Yang peered down at the surprisingly fast water below. She had never given the rivers much mind, they were easy to ignore when the bridges through the city passed so far above them. Now that she looked closely, she could see that the water was a little less than pure. The industrial district was further out, towards the coast, so it couldn't be from that. She knew some people probably threw their garbage into the river, but its source also came from somewhere out in the wilds, so there was no telling what exactly could be flowing through the city. Other than that, though, there didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong with the water.

Yang leaned over the edge to check if she could see through the water, but was hit by a wave of dizziness. It was like she had just run a marathon with five hundred pounds on her back. Her vision was blurred slightly, but she could still see through the water, to the bottom of the river.

The flowing water distorted what she was seeing at the bed, but she could see all the way down without too much trouble. It took her a second but she also realized that she couldn't see her reflection. Sure the sun was down, but there were still streetlights. She should have been able to see her reflection.

She knelt down and placed her hand just a few inches above the water, and smiled when a faint image appeared in the choppy current. A moment later, water splashed up on her face, and her body suddenly felt like a limp noodle.

"You should probably take a step back, Yang. I don't feel like having to fish you out of the river tonight."

Yang did what he asked and fell back onto her rear. Her strength returned to her as quickly as it had left, and she flexed her fingers a couple times before looking to Ozpin for answers.

"Vampires aren't just creatures of the night. They are also of the earth, and as such are weakened by water, especially flowing water. It won't kill you, like the sun, and drowning certainly isn't a concern. The most you'd have to worry about is being trapped at the bottom of the river until it either dried up or someone pulled you out."

"Why didn't I notice before, then?" She realized she didn't feel like this going to, or coming back from Patch, nor from the rain earlier during the day.

"The sun probably made you feel weaker than the water did. It's a strange thing that we haven't been able to figure out, but from what we can guess, if there is something between you and the water, it loses it's effect on you, as well as it being far away. As for rain, it's considered a force of the sky.."

Yang raised an eyebrow at that last fact, waiting for a reason behind that logic. Ozpin shrugged himself and said, "It may not make much sense, but that is how it works."

She glanced down at the water again before asking, "So how are we going to find his dumping place? I mean, I won't be much use if I have to stay so far away, and you probably aren't looking forward to getting in there and looking around."

He shook his head, saying, "No, no one's going to have to get in the water. With a careful eye, walking along the bank should suffice. By the sounds of it, this vampire doesn't take much care in disposing of its victims. It's possible we could even catch him in the act."

Yang started to walk, putting Ozpin between herself and the river while trying to watch the far side. She didn't know exactly what she was watching for. What did a body dump look like? It was probably pretty corpse-y and suspicious, but lots of people threw things into the river, and plenty of those things were probably pretty shady too.

Most of the water seemed normal enough, but those were mostly the places where the water was clearest. She tried to focus on where the current made foam, or flowed around obstructions that made it difficult to see.

It felt like a long while before either of them said anything, but she was thankful for the silence. It made her feel a little bit better, having time to herself to think.

If she did manage to get her hands on that vampire, she would make sure he didn't hurt anyone else. She couldn't imagine what the fight would be like, though. Her battle with Ruby had been… terrible. And Ruby only had about a two week lead on her in terms of development. She hoped that the benefits of being a vampire capped out somewhere around there. Otherwise, the battle wasn't going to be fun.

She also found herself wondering about Ozpin's fighting abilities. She'd never seen him so much as lift a finger against an opponent, but he said he was still a vampire hunter. Someone like that would have to be an excellent fighter, but she just couldn't imagine the Headmaster behaving like that. He was far too reserved.

The longer they walked the more tense Yang felt. She couldn't place why, but it felt like she was being watched. Despite her best efforts to find the source of the feeling, she could find no one.

Ozpin continued to walk at a leisurely pace, calmly continuing to look over the river, his mouth bent into a slight smile. She knew he could feel it too. There was no way he couldn't. Gradually, the feeling faded, but that left Yang more uneasy than anything else.

After searching for what was about half an hour, Ozpin turned and said, "Perhaps it would be wise to ask some of the locals whether or not they've seen anything. You'll probably have better luck with that than I would. Start with the buildings along the bank. And don't come off as being too threatening, I don't imagine you would be too well received in an area where a vampire has decided to throw his bodies if you are too… enthusiastic."

His tone suggested what he didn't directly say, and Yang knew his concern wasn't misplaced. She needed to keep a tight handle on herself. Any slip-ups would be disastrous.

The houses weren't far from the banks, but Yang was thankful that Ozpin was still in view. If something happened to him, or to her, the other would be ready to react almost instantly.

It felt strange, going from door to door in the dead of the night. There weren't many traveling salesmen on Patch, but from what some of her friends had said, they were irritating at best, and infuriating at their worst. Neither of those would help, but she was beyond caring too much about that.

Unsurprisingly, she was met with either hostility or confusion. The first guy didn't even bother opening the door till she explained she wasn't selling anything. The third and fourth were convinced she was police or child services. All of them though hadn't seen anything, and the first guy didn't even know bodies were being dumped in the river so close by.

"Oh Vlad, you're such a gentleman."

Yang left the last door she knocked at to see a man walking down the street with two women under his arms. Yang ran from the door to intercept them. They stopped in their tracks willingly and the man looked down at Yang. He had long black hair that flowed down his shoulders and well-kept facial hair. Yang eyed him up and down, sizing him up on natural instinct before anything else. He didn't look too strong, but she had the inkling that he was hiding something. Her skin prickled as the man did the same, and the women at his sides started to give the man more attention, twirling their fingers through his hair and giving Yang sultry waves and a few lude gestures.

One of the girls beckoned, and Yang narrowed her eyes. They were probably getting paid. Still, the guy might know something, so she couldn't just let him go.

She started walking towards him, trying to pick up whatever she could about him. He was relaxed, and as she got closer she could smell alcohol on his breath.

"Who's this? You new in town? I haven't seen you around before."

His voice was smooth, and gave the impression that he had no clue what was going on, but Yang figured she would ask anyways.

"Have you seen anything suspicious around here lately? Someone's been dumping bodies into the river around here, and I'm trying to find them."

"Really? Well damn, I must apologize to you two ladies. It was irresponsible for me to bring two fine flowers such as yourselves to such a place." His words made Yang want to vomit, but his companions were eating it up.

Yang raised an eyebrow before shaking her head.

"Well young miss, I appreciate the warning. I'll make sure to keep my guard up till I have escorted these two lovelies home for the evening."

One of them commented about how he was "So brave," but Yang let them go on with their night.

She shook her head, impressed at how each syllable he spoke made her like him less and less. Something about him made her very uncomfortable. She wanted to question them more, but they were rounding the corner already, laughing amongst themselves. "When you live out of the kingdom for as long as I have, you grow an appreciation for the finer things the civilized world can provide-"

Yang's focus turned from their chat to scouring the area around her. The feeling of being watched had returned, this time much stronger than before. She knew the source had to be close.

She ran down the street toward where she felt it was coming from. She could feel it growing closer and closer, but it started to move away from her, and she picked up her pace. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but she was sure she saw something move from the underside of the bridge in front of her to the support beam on the ground. Yang went into a full sprint. Her vision tunneled as everything outside what she was focusing on turned into a blur. The pillar grew closer, and she had her gauntlets extend into their combat form. In a swift motion she rounded the corner and gave a yell of rage as she made a wide left hook at the figure that was there.

A stick of some kind intercepted her arm, and forced it away from her center. Her target then ducked low, and she felt her body get lifted up as she collided with their shoulders. In one second flat, Yang was flipped over and on her back with a rough landing. She tried to pick herself up, until the same stick from before came down, right on her head and nose. The impact made her face burn, and her hands rushed to her face as she rolled on the ground in pain.

"Yang, if you can't control yourself then maybe it's time to pack it in for the night. It doesn't seem like the vampire will be showing himself today."

Yang pried her eyes open to see Professor Ozpin standing above her. Something about him made her very uncomfortable. She wanted to question them more, but they were rounding the corner already, laughing amongst themselves. "When you live out of the kingdom for as long as I have, you grow an appreciation for the finer things the civilized world can provide-"

Yang's focus turned from their chat to scouring the area around her. The feeling of being watched had returned, this time much stronger than before. She knew the source had to be close.

She ran down the street toward where she felt it was coming from. She could feel it growing closer and closer, but it started to move away from her and she picked up the pace. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but she was sure she saw something move from the underside of the bridge in front of her to the support beam on the ground. Yang went into a full sprint. Her vision tunneled as everything outside what she was focusing on turned into a blur. The pillar grew closer, and she had her gauntlets extend into their combat form. In a swift motion she rounded the corner and gave a yell of rage as she made a wide left hook at the figure that was there.

A stick of some kind intercepted her arm, and forced it away from her center. Her target then ducked low, and she felt her body get lifted up as she collided with their shoulders. In one second flat, Yang was flipped over and on her back with a rough landing. She tried to pick herself up, until the same stick from before came down, right on her head and nose. The impact made her face burn, and her hands rushed to the pain as she rolled on the ground in a futile attempt to make it stop burning.

"Yang, if you can't control yourself then maybe it's time to pack it in for the night. It doesn't seem like the vampire will be showing himself today."

Yang pried her eyes open to see Professor Ozpin standing above her.

"When did you get here?"

Ozpin offered a hand to her, and she reached out and grabbed it, rubbing her head.

"You can't simply attack anything that seems suspicious, especially in such a populated area. Doing that could lead to the deaths of innocents, or worse, in your case. Please, you must be more cautious."

She was pulled back to her feet, then fixed Ozpin with a suspicious gaze. "Did you see anyone run past here? I could have sworn I felt something… I don't know, weird."

He shook his head, raising an eyebrow before glancing around.

"No, why? Should I have? Did you see them?"

Yang hesitated.

"No, I guess not. I thought I could catch them."

The feeling was gone, and what had been causing it was no closer than it had been before. She sighed and shook her head, looking around at places anything could be hiding. Behind street lights, on the roofs of buildings, even the river couldn't be discounted.

"Alright. I still want to keep looking, but if you think it's best to turn in for the night I guess we can keep doing that."

"I'm glad you're giving this the seriousness it requires." He commented, a small smile on his face as he lead her back to the roof where they landed. A bullhead arrived before they reached the top and they were back at Beacon within the hour.

Ozpin stepped off the craft, rubbing one of his eyes. Yang felt she was being watched again, but she couldn't place where the sensation came from. Ozpin explained that he would rest for the night, and would see her first thing after breakfast. Once he retreated inside the building the feeling finally faded, and Yang walked to her dorm. She felt thirsty, but refused to even acknowledge the fact. She thought about what said about it. It wasn't actually the blood that would drive her mad, it was the venom in her fangs. Maybe if she drank from a blood bag or something she could… No. She shook her head, it was risky to begin with, plus she didn't know if that would actually work. She wouldn't be like this for long anyways; she just needed to hold out for a little longer.

* * *

She pushed open to door to her room, so glad she programmed her backup scroll with the keycode for the door. The room was still empty, and the blood stained carpet hadn't been replaced yet. She looked around for something to do during the night. This would normally be when she was up as a vampire, but couldn't figure out how to pass the time.

She looked around for a bit before noticing Ruby hadn't taken her "Pocket Gamer" with her when she left. As always, it had her favorite game plugged in, one that Yang found decent enough, even if it wasn't normally her style. The action combat was very slow to her, much slower then she remembered it being. Enemy swings that would normally take only a fraction of a second seemed to pass at a snail's pace. With no challenge to the enemies, Yang quickly grew bored and set it down.

Looking around more, she found one of the books Blake was always reading. Blake did always have good taste in books, even if Yang didn't enjoy reading most of the time. She opened the front cover and was immediately greeted with a graphic content warning. It took a few seconds for her to realize what that meant, but when the connection happened, Yang's memories of her being red faced during meals, or being wide eyed with her face literally between the pages all made sense now.

She remembered what she had told Ozpin last night, and discarded Blake's in favor of scanning through Ruby's collection. "Atlas" stood out with its gold trim and lettering. Yang quickly pulled it out and started flipping through the pages. she'd made her way through at least seven eighths of the book before she found it again.

Most of the information was useless fluff, telling how the vampire scared the people and how dangerous the journey was for the hero. She was more interested in what the facts were, hidden behind the myth; the vampire's habits, what it could do, and how it could be killed.

Superhuman strength was one that Yang was already familiar enough with. She'd had some experience in dissolving into mist, although she didn't know how much use that would be in a fight. Good for getting around maybe, but not for hitting people. The ability to morph her arms into weapons was far more useful, and it was in the book too, but she didn't have any kind of handle on it yet. Another ability the book mentioned was disguises. The vampire in the story used its powers to change its appearance, taking the form of someone else to trick people. That one made her feel a little nervous. The vampire could be anyone, but making them harder to find. Apparently that ability wasn't just limited to human forms, either. To try to escape, the vampire in the story tried turning into a fox.

Yang had to stop, and look down at herself in disbelief. She knew some aspects of the story had to be exaggerated, but a fox? It seemed a little out there. Still, she needed to become more familiar with using her powers if she wanted any prayer of winning the fight.

She spent a few minutes throwing punches at empty air, making sure that she could still hit as hard as she could possibly need. Every punch was accompanied by a satisfying whooshing sound, and her fists moved almost too fast for even her to follow.

The next task she set her sights on was turning her arms into weapons. She moved to the bathroom, taking off Ember Celica and laying them carefully on the counter before turning her attention to her reflection.

Or, at least, where her reflection would be. It took her a few moments to register that the mirror didn't show her anything. When she remembered, she hissed through her teeth.

After thinking for a few moments, she plugged the sink, and filled it with water. the curved basin worked well enough, once the water became still.

She was pale. Horribly, corpse-ishly pale. But still, everything else seemed alright. Her eyes seemed to be darkening, but she didn't pay much attention to that. What she focused on were her fingers, and in her head, she pictured the way that Ruby's had morphed together, forming into blades like it was nothing. She closed her eyes as she felt her flesh start to tingle, and her mind overflowed with possibilities. What did she want? A short blade? A long blade? Some kind of tentacle thing, like Ruby had?

She let her mind settle on one thing, and opened her eyes before she even knew what it was. When she looked, she found that a hard shell had formed where her fist used to be, narrowing to a sharp point that looked like it would go through even steel.

She tried swung another punch to check how much it would restrict her movements. Air blasted past her arm before softly shaking the now useless mirror on the wall as the shell dissipated. Yang growled in frustration, before taking a breath and concentrating. The shell reformed around her arm, and she held it out in front of her.

Once more it started to dissipate like she guessed it had the first time. Concentrating on it, it ceased and started to reform around her fist. It took a lot of focus to keep it there. How could Ruby do it so easily? The only thing her sister could ever focus on were her games, Crescent Rose, food, and her stories.

Yang let the weapon fade away, deciding it would be better used as a backup than anything else. She didn't know if she would be able to summon it quickly enough in battle, and if she could, there was no guarantee it would stay. Ember Celica was much more dependable, and had the bonus of being a flame weapon, which she could use to ward off other vampires.

Her eyes drifted from her gauntlets back to the book on her bed, and she thought about the other powers she had. Disguising could help to find Dracul, and it couldn't hurt to try it out.

She leaned over the sink, trying to think of who she could turn into. It needed to be someone she was very familiar with, someone she saw almost every day.

There was no question in her mind who it would be. She could imagine Ruby's body, face, hair, every detail was as clear as day to her. Her eyes closed, and she tried to imagine herself transforming into Ruby. She tried to tense herself up, making the transformation happen, but felt nothing. After a few seconds of trying, she let out a deep breath and opened her eyes again.

Bright yellow hair still flowed down over her shoulders, she was still tall, and she didn't look like Ruby.

She snorted in irritation before closing her eyes and trying again. She had hours, and she was going to figure this stuff out. Picturing Ruby again, she funneled all the concentration she could into a single mental image of her sister, practically shaking with the effort it took. She could feel her body make strange movements, like things were popping in and out of place, and when she opened her eyes, she nearly screamed.

Ruby gazed back through the water, but she wasn't right. hollow eyes peered back at her from sunken sockets, and a twisted, predatory smile warped what was usually a sweet, innocent face. Long fangs stood proud in her maw, poking into her bottom lip.

Yang jerked back, alarmed, before noticing in the seconds before the basin was out of sight, Ruby moved identically to her.

She stumbled, toppling over and cracking her head hard on the tiled floor. She didn't know whether or not to feel happy about the fact that it didn't hurt. As she stood up, she realized that her body was now in quite different proportions than it had been seconds ago. Even her clothes had been replaced by the short dress Ruby wore, and it didn't escape her attention that a large red stain covered the front.

This was Ruby right after she'd attacked Yang.

Thankfully, her panicked state broke the concentration that held up the illusion, and it disappeared in the same black smoke everything else did. She sprang to her feet and rushed over to the sink again, staring desperately at the surface of the water.

She was herself again. Or, at least as close as she could get. Every trace of Ruby's monstrous appearance was gone. Still, Yang was uncomfortable. That awful smile… had it been hers?

Her hands shook as she walked out of the bathroom, returning to her bed. Ruby's book thudded to the floor softly as Yang pulled her knees up to her chest, and she closed her eyes, trying to shove the memories out of her mind.

She was going to wait for Ozpin to come back before she tried anything else.

* * *

Author's Note:

Leivve was, as with the other chapters, a huge help to getting this thing done. If you've got the time, why not leave a review? It makes everyone's day better.


	8. Chapter 8

Yang let out a yelp as her feet were swept from beneath her. Her nose smashed into the floor, cracking loudly as it broke. She was about to push herself up, but Ozpin's cane came down on the back of her head, forcing it back down. A burning feeling lingered, even after the cane was removed.

She growled to herself as she rolled over onto her back, looking up at the professor. He stood patiently, both arms leaning on the cane, peering back. She grabbed her nose and forced it back into place. No pain came from it, but a crack louder than the first told her it should have.

"Miss Xiao Long, I have told you several times; you'll need to use your vampiric powers if you want even the slightest chance to hit me, let alone Dracul."

"I've tried. It's too hard. It takes too much focus just to do basic things like shapeshift or go smoke-y."

"Really?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, "Normally vampires can use their powers naturally."

"Oh, great! You saying I'm a gimped vampire?"

"I refuse to believe that. I'll have Glynda help you practice, it's been decades since the last time I even spoke directly with a vampire let alone worked with one, I need to reread some books on this; awaken some knowledge I might have forgotten." He finished, walking off at a quick pace. Glynda entered a few moments later and greeted Yang.

"Good afternoon, Yang. I'm afraid I can't stay for too long. despite the urgency of the situation, I still have a class to teach in an hour."

"You're a vampire hunter too? You've got the attitude for it, I guess."

"No, but due to my relationship with Ozpin, you could say I'm a bit of an exception to the rules." Her riding crop came around, tagging Yang's nose to make sure she had the young huntresses attention, "If you ever meet another member of The Order, you are never to say anything about this. Got it?"

She nodded, still focused on the leather tool. People had joked about it at the beginning of the year. They didn't anymore. Glynda made sure of that.

"Good. Now, you've had my class, you know how I teach. The best way to teach a man to swim is to throw him in the ocean. And, thanks to your regenerative abilities, I won't have to go quite as easy on you as any other student." She grinned with the last few words, making Yang's spine tingle.

Yang tried to ignore it, opting instead to turn away from the teacher and clap her hands together, saying, "Well, Professor Ozpin already beat the snot out of me, so I don't think we need to try-"

A tingling feeling in the back of her head made her stop and turn. Her eyes shot open as she saw a wedge of what looked like glass shards spiraling towards her.

Almost involuntarily, she jerked her torso back, toppling towards the ground. She had to focus hard to twist her body around so she didn't land on her back. She landed on all fours before swiftly moved herself to the side as a slab of the floor next to her attempted to strike her. Glynda made another quick flick of her crop, a small smile on her face as her eyes followed Yang.

Instead of avoiding the attack, Yang charged forward, using her momentum to right her body as she went. The second slab shattered on her side. If she were a normal human, her entire left side would have been crushed to a point that doctors couldn't save her, but that was what she was counting on. The fire in her chest went from a simple ember to a burning fire in an instant. Her fist came up, but only met air. A wide hook followed up, but again she missed as Glynda casually dodged Yang's attacks. Blasts from her gauntlets roared out in rage that was starting to match her own as she struggled to hit the clearly more experienced teacher.

Her wounds started to heal, and with it, her power started to diminish. Finally after one last jab, Yang had the opening she needed. Glynda was crouched to her side, in perfect position for Yang to deliver one of her infamous uppercuts. The headmistress was already ahead of her though, and just before contact could be made, Yang felt a glass shard enter the back of her bicep, throwing off her aim. Soon another came into her opposite shoulder, then another into her spine. More made contact, and within the second Yang was lifted off the ground by the countless shards.

She slammed into the wall, hard. Plaster cracked, and air was forced from her glass lodged in her was knocked loose, but more and more took its place. When Yang finally slid far enough down that she could feel her feet on the floor, she used all her strength to force herself around. The inferno inside of her was raging, and the power in her body felt like it was going to make her burst. The shards of glass were willingly removing themselves from Yang before making a quick loop back to strike again in an infinite cycle of attacks. Glynda stood a few feet back twirling her crop in a small circle in front of her.

The pressure was building, and Yang needed a release. With all the strength she could call upon, she ignored the glass shards and slammed her fist together. The eruption of power felt invigorating, like it always did. The force knocked the shards away, ceasing their onslaught and blowing them into smaller pieces. Her hair burned with aura and she could feel it flowing through her muscles, repairing and energizing them as it traveled through her body, rather than just being a static presence within her.

Glynda held one of her hands in front of her face. Her eyes were wide and her jaw slack as she stood, dumbfounded. The brawler took advantage of her confusion and shifted one of her gauntlets back and fired, its powerful blast launching her forward.

Glynda shook herself and prepared for the attack. She waved her crop down, but instead of something coming at Yang, she felt herself being pulled to the ground, like she was being crushed under the weight of the ceiling.

Her steps slowed, and her face twisted into an unpleasant grimace. Her muscles were pulled taut. She could feel them on the verge of snapping, but kept forcing herself forward.

With one final rush, her knuckles cracked against Glynda's jaw. The teacher stumbled back, glasses knocked askew and hair falling over her face. Yang couldn't appreciate her strike for more than a second before falling to the ground, unable to move.

"Yang, how did you do that?" Yang recognized that she was being talked to, and let her bloodlust die down.

"What do you mean? My semblance? Didn't we cover that in, like, the second week of school?"

"Yes, I know, but how did you use it just now?" Her voice grew firmer as Yang stared back uncomprehendingly. "Vampires can't use aura or semblance after they turn, so how did you use it?"

"Just the same as always. Why? Is this a big deal or something?"

Glynda didn't answer her directly. Instead, she released Yang from her attack and took a few steps back as she pulled out her scroll to summon Ozpin back.

He returned in only a few minutes, long enough for Yang's body to fully heal, and her semblance to die down again. The headmaster walked through the elevator door, his cane tucked under his arm as he sipped a mug in one hand, and read from a large leather-bound book in the other.

He looked up at Glynda and asked what was so important. The book slapped shut and was safely placed in a firm hold next to his body while he took another sip of his drink.

"Yang here can use her aura and semblance."

"Are you sure?" He asked, but Glynda's glare, that he was questioning her silenced his doubt.

"Yeah I guess this is my bad," Yang commented, scratching the back of her head in slight embarrassment, "I could always use it normally so I didn't even realize that was even a thing."

"This is most interesting. I'll be sure to inform to the rest of the order, but for the moment, I've discovered I was wrong before." Holding up the book that proved him a liar. "Though all vampires can use their abilities, they normally only have one that comes to them naturally. That could be why you're having such a hard time using your new abilities. It isn't unlike a muscle; once you strengthen it, you can use your abilities more easily. But you should have one that you don't even need to think about."

"Well that explains why Ruby can morph her body so easily." Yang commented to herself, trying to not actually interrupt.

"The fact you can use your aura and semblance leads me to believe that this is your natural talent."

"From gimped to special snowflake." Yang boasted, cheering herself up, but Ozpin knew he was about to crush that good spirit.

"Yes, quite. Might you have happened to have seen the news this morning?"

Yang asked why it mattered, but Glynda was already tapping on her scroll to bring up the story he was referring to. Yang didn't really like the news, most of the stuff was either irrelevant to her or didn't interest her enough to pay attention to. This report, however, sent a shiver down her spine as the reported onscreen started to talk.

"As of this morning, five people have been found In the Vale River, dead. All of the victims had two puncture wounds in their necks and appeared to have been drained of blood before being dumped in the river. Three victims were found near the factory district, while the other two were closer to the residential area."

A moment later, pictures of five different individuals appeared on the screen. Yang immediately recognized two of the wrinkled pale faces as the women that she saw with the man last night.

"The three found by the factory district also had their necks snapped in a way that it deemed uncharacteristic for whom the newspapers are now calling, "The Vampire of Vale," due to bodies found being drained of blood. It is thought that they were potentially witnesses to the previous two incidents. Police are issuing a 'Code Yellow,' citizens are recommended to cease public activities after sundown and return to their homes. If the killer remains uncaught, this will be stepped up to a 'Code Orange' which will force the public to-"

Yang closed it out, hearing what she needed too. Only the strength of her will let her hand the scroll back to Glynda instead of smashing it on the floor at her feet.

Her anger was plain to see. She couldn't hide it, even if she wanted to. As soon as the scroll was out of her hands, she turned away from the two adults, trying to keep herself from shouting.

"I know how you're feeling. Believe me, I had just as little patience when I was just starting. Its better we let the vampire go after gaining some information than to prematurely attack. You need to train more before-"

Ozpin's voice was infuriatingly calm, and Yang felt the urge to turn around and lash out at him when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged off his hand and took a step away, unable to contain herself any longer.

"How can you be so calm? We had him! He was right in front of us! I was going after him, and you…"

Her voice trailed off, and she turned back.

Her breathing was heavy, in spite of the fact she didn't need the air.

"I could have saved Ruby! I could have killed him right there!"

She threw a punch, wild and uncontrolled. Ozpin didn't dodge out of the way, nor did he raise his weapon to defend himself. Instead, Glynda waved her crop in a wide slash, and Yang was blasted back, pinned to the floor again by a force she couldn't see.

She struggled to stand, but had no luck. Glynda was suddenly by her side, obviously making use of every iota of restraint she had, and finding that it wasn't enough.

"How dare you try something so cowardly? Do you have any idea-"

She stopped short when Ozpin put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back gently, saying, "Glynda, please."

She looked from the Headmaster to Yang, then back again, an expression of anger playing across her face. Ozpin nodded slowly, peering back with the utmost composure.

After several; moments, Glynda sighed and averted her gaze, muttering, "Fine, fine, you know best."

Glynda didn't let Yang go, but Ozpin did step over to her side, kneeling down next to her.

"Yang, you must understand; the time simply was not right. I want to get Ruby back just as much as you. She's my student, and I would give myself to save her in an instant, but there is no point in fighting a losing battle."

Yang's breathing slowed, and her struggles became less frantic.

"You don't know if it was a losing battle! You've never seen him fight. We could have taken him out right there."

She stared back at Ozpin, trying to make him get it. They should have at least taken a chance, it would've been better than those people dying.

He sighed, thinking for a moment before rubbing his eyes.

"I understand your confusion, but really, I've been doing this for a long time. That was not a situation where attacking an elder vampire could have gone well. Imagine how easily the walls of the houses nearby would have crumbled, and more innocents dragged into the situation. He could have killed countless people in that battle."

As much as Yang tried to stay angry, she couldn't. She understood Ozpin, but she couldn't stand leaving Ruby to what had happened. A few more seconds of silence passed as Ozpin waited for some response. After it was clear she wasn't going to say anything, he spoke again.

"Now, I'm sure I could convince Professor Goodwitch to let you go, but you have to calm down. Can you do that?"

She wanted to keep fighting, but the futility of the situation was starting to sink in. Hesitantly, she nodded, and tried to make herself calm.

Ozpin stared down, making sure that she relaxed as much as she could before turning to Glynda and giving a small nod. Yang felt the force on her starting to loosen, then lift entirely, and she pushed herself up without hesitation. The two adults kept a wary gaze on her, but she felt in-control enough that she wasn't going to try anything else.

When she was able to move again, she stood, knowing that if it were possible, her face would be a bright red. She averted her eyes as she rubbed the back of her head, saying, "Sorry about that. I just… I want this to be over. I want things to go back to how they were before."

Suddenly, her limbs felt too heavy to lift. She was so tired, she wished she could just curl up and go to sleep. Maybe all of what had happened would just turn out to have been a bad dream.

Her desire to sit didn't overpower her, though, and she looked back to Ozpin when he continued to speak.

"Now, can I trust that there will be no more outbursts?" Yang nodded, and noticed that Glynda had nodded too. "Good. Well, Glynda, I would hate for you to be late to class."

The teacher looked from Ozpin to Yang, a doubtful expression on her face, before nodding to Ozpin and saying, "Very well. Thank you, Sir. Good luck."

With that, she turned towards the exit, and walked briskly from the room. Ozpin watched her go, taking a sip from his mug, then turned back to Yang. "Right, now perhaps it would be best best for you to focus on making use of your aura in combat. It should give you the edge of surprise you need. Now, let me see what she worked on with you."

She showed him how Glynda had forced the semblance out of her, answering every question about the process that Ozpin asked, and seeming to explain every minute part in excruciating detail. When she was done, Ozpin only nodded, and said, "Well, I suppose we should get back to work, then, shouldn't we?"

For a moment, she thought she heard a little of Uncle Qrow's special brand of snark, but she couldn't be sure. It didn't matter, though, as Ozpin wasted no time in picking up the beating exactly where he'd left off.

What few attempts she made at using her vampiric powers in the midst of the fight only resulted in her getting smacked around more. They took far too much of her focus away from the fight, and left her wide open to attack. Instead, she focused on her aura, deflecting what damage she could, and using the rest to fuel her semblance. Every bruise and cut she took built her up more, and even though the injuries faded moments after they were inflicted, the energy they gave her lasted until she used it.

Ozpin wasn't a fool, he saw what was going on. His strikes became more sparing, but harder every time, carefully picked to disable Yang as much as possible. She struggled to keep her semblance going, and it wasn't long before Yang was playing an all new tactic; she forced herself on him more and more aggressively, forcing him to parry and counter to avoid being struck himself.

As if in spite of all her efforts, she still could not hit him. His focus was almost completely on preserving himself. Yang wasn't sure, but it seemed like he was doing it only to annoy her.

This continued for hours, Ozpin never showing the slightest sign of fatigue no matter how hard Yang pushed him. He always met her with just enough force to stop her blow, or kept just at the edge of her range.

When he had finally called a halt to the exercise, Yang felt severely underprepared to fight a vampire. If she couldn't hit a regular man like Ozpin, she didn't seem to stand a chance.

Ozpin pulled up his sleeve, looking at his watch before saying, "Huh, time really does fly, doesn't it? It's almost evening." He looked back up at Yang, giving her a small smile. She didn't feel like returning it. Instead, she let out a deep sigh, putting her hand to her head in frustration.

"Can I really do this? I mean, you're the vampire hunter here, you're coming with me, right? I bet Dracul couldn't lay a finger on you!"

Ozpin shook his head, laughing slightly. "No, I'm afraid I won't be going out tonight. There's quite a bit of work to do, and my having put it off all day won't have lightened the load. I suggest you stay in too, and get more practice. I cannot, of course, keep you here, should you choose to leave. I only ask that you think carefully about what you do next."

Yang's eyes narrowed. It seemed like he wanted her to go, but she wasn't sure.

Ozpin walked towards the door, motioning for her to follow. She did, and when he reached it, he held it open, saying, "I believe you know the way out."

Yang could only stare back. "You're serious?"

Ozpin rose an eyebrow, then said, "Yes, quite. I'm not joking around, I let the paperwork build quite monstrously today. You could come with me to my office and help, I suppose, but something makes me doubt that you'd have a very enjoyable time. How are you at alphabetizing?"

Little could have made Yang leave faster. She beat a hasty retreat back to her dorm room, and once she was there, she found herself alone again. The blood on the carpet was an unpleasant reminder of what had happened, and she tried to ignore the bathroom altogether.

She had the full intent to go out. If she found the vampire, she was sure Ozpin would put down his work to help. While she waited for the sun to fully retreat from the sky, she pulled out her scroll and started doing so research. Finding info on her quarry was easy enough, though his killing weren't actually as regular as Yang would have thought. He only seemed to feed once every few weeks and the bodies were always dumped in or near the residential area. No bruises, or signs of struggle, nothing in the victim's bodies to suggest drugs or any other substances. He must have used that enthralling thing Ruby did to her friends when he did the actual deed.

The sun set sooner than she expected, a clear sign that winter would be coming to Vale in a few weeks. She stood and made her way outside and quickly headed to the garage so she could ride into town. No pilot came to offer her a ride this time into town, but that was probably for the better. After the initial drop off it was always slow going after.

As she pulled Bumblebee out of the garage, she cast one last glance up at Ozpin's office, nestled gently at the top of the clock tower. It glowed with a warm green light, and in the window, she was sure she could see a figure standing, staring down at her. Normally she would have felt creeped out, but she thought she knew who it was. It was almost comforting, in a weird guardian angel kind of way. She knew his gaze wouldn't follow her away from the school, though. She turned, and headed off, trying to keep her focus as sharp as possible.

The quiet of the road both helped her relax and made her anxiety grow. She let the bike go a little faster than she was supposed to be. Normally she did her best to follow the laws, but the road was empty and she was burning twilight getting there. The residential area didn't require her to cross the river to get to it, but was in the center of the city. She loved Vale, but one thing she would always hate it for was how long the traffic lights were.

A parking spot was easy enough to find, and when she finally did arrive, she found the place where she'd met the man the night before. She could remember his stupid sleazy face, and the way he had those women fawning over him. It made her even sicker to think of now that she knew his real intent with the women.

Time seemed to slip away faster than she could handle. Seconds rolled into minutes, and she knew that no matter how frantically she looked, she couldn't search through the whole residential district. After what seemed to be nothing but a blur in her mind, she found herself sprinting through alleyways, kicking trash cans over and flipping dumpsters. She wasn't even sure why she was doing it, there was no chance of finding Dracul that way.

She brought herself to a stop, breathing heavily as she tried to bring herself back to reason. Her time was limited, so she didn't have the time to spare to freak out. She tried to think logically. Nothing would come of continuing to poke around the residential area, she was sure of it, but that wasn't the only lead she had. In the industrial district, the other bodies had been found. If she had the slightest hope of finding Dracul, it would be there.

Yang made her way back to Bumblebee as fast as she could, knowing that she would have to cross one of the overpasses on the river. The bike's ignition growled through the mostly quiet night, and the sound of its tires screeching against the street split through the darkness, echoing off windows and through alleys as she jerked to a start before speeding off.

Without the usual traffic of the daytime, she tore a path to the overpass, taking turns so sharp she almost crashed into the sidewalk. When she reached it, she slowed, eyeing the obstacle. It was a straight shot across, but she knew she would be unable to endure going carefully across. It would take far too much time, and be much too dangerous.

She could practically hear Weiss in the back of her head, calling her a colorful variety of names for what she was about to do. She didn't see any other way, though. And besides, she was a vampire, it wasn't like something like this would kill her.

At least, she hoped not.

With a quiet resolve, she turned the bike around, putting some distance between herself and the bridge. Once she had a good distance, she turned again, and revved Bumblebee's engine. Her eyes narrowed again as she locked her gaze on the other side of the river, sure that if this didn't work, it would at least get her almost to the other side.

A drunk group standing in front of a nearby bar recognized what she was about to do and started hollering in support. She ignored them, and twisted her wrists back.

The smell of burning rubber filled the air almost immediately. Holding on to the bike became infinitely harder, and the other side of the overpass started to rapidly approach.

As Bumblebee's tires met with the incline, Yang felt her strength start to fade. Her grip on the bike loosened, but she kept her eyes forward. In the short seconds she'd been moving, she had gone from stationary to a startling speed. The handlebar started to wobble slightly, but she was quick to correct its deviations.

As the road leveled out, she started to pass directly over the river. Her peripherals started to fade out, and her fingers felt stiff. She gritted her teeth, biting her cheek in an attempt to keep herself conscious enough to continue.

It didn't help much, considering she couldn't feel the pain. Her hands slipped from the handlebars, and she started to slough over. She tried to fight the exhausting force, but found it was impossible to do anything, even move.

When the bike was about half way across the bridge, its front wheel started to shake violently, and the whole thing started to tip. Yang could only watch through barely open eyes as her ride toppled to the ground, starting to lose speed. The only thing that Yang could solidly think was that it was a mistake to not have worn her helmet.

Metal ground against the road, making a terrible screeching sound, throwing up paint chips and sparks as she went. Her skin that touched the road was stripped away or burned by the immense friction, her vest was taking a lot of abuse, but was still holding together and protecting the skin underneath.

In the time it would have taken her to blink, the bike encountered some imperceptible fault in the road, and it jolted violently. Yang was thrown into the air, the dim sensation of air flowing through her golden hair her only indication of her direction.

When she felt her body hit the ground again, she felt a pop in her shoulder, and something in her wrist snapped. She continued to tumble and skid for several seconds before her momentum stopped.

When she stopped moving, she picked her head up off the street as best she could, noting that one eye now seemed totally incapable of focusing, even beyond the great fatigue the river caused.

She was able to move, though, and slowly turned her head around. The bike was standing on its two wheels thanks to its gyrosphere, but the handle bar had been broken. The side panel was missing too, and it looked like some engine bits had been broken off with it. It was fixable, but now Yang was regretting picking the first idea that came to her head.

She groaned as she pulled her legs up under her. Everything tingled with what was probably supposed to be pain, but nothing made her feel too banged up. Pushing herself off the ground wasn't too hard, but she was certain that her wrist had been broken. On top of that, she could feel her shoulder hanging from its socket. It wasn't the first time, but now Yang was sure she could take care of it herself.

Popping the limb back into place was easy, and she rolled it a few times before swaying unsteadily. She was still close to the water, and she couldn't spare the time to stop. Her plan hadn't been a complete failure, she was close enough to the other side that she wasn't completely paralyzed, and she was sure that as soon as she got to the other side, the damage she'd taken would just iron itself out.

Her eye, however, was still bothering her. The blurriness was lasting too long to simply be from the crash, and she wasn't sure if she could even get concussions anymore. The blur only seemed to be present in her right eye as well, which made it even stranger. As she crawled, she wondered if it had been damaged in some way. One hand made its way up, and felt at the top of her eyelid.

A sharp glass edge met her fingertip, and her vision from the right eye seemed to shift dramatically. She flinched, hesitated a moment, then remembered that she would be able to regenerate almost anything after getting off the bridge.

Her fingers made a sickening squelching sound as she tried to get a good hold on the glass, and her vision in the eye went dark completely. She didn't let herself stop, and soon was holding a sharp edge of what had been a part of her windshield moments before. When she saw the gelatinous goop clinging to its edges, she tossed it away while letting out a gag, returning her focus to getting off the bridge.

As she got further away, she felt her body starting to gain some energy back. It wasn't until she got the incline of the overpass that she felt like she wasn't going to topple over. When she looked down at herself she saw that the damage was starting to heal, but it was probably going to take a few minutes before everything, especially her eye, was back to one hundred percent functionality.

By the time she reached the regular street again, she was able to stand. The haze was, for the most part, gone, and walking was rapidly becoming far less dizzying. Her body felt very heavy though, like how she would feel after a long day of playing with Ruby, all the healing must have had some kind of toll on her. She caught herself more than once smacking her lips as she made her way down the street, and repressed any thoughts about how thirsty she was starting to feel.

She wasn't that far gone. Not yet.

The industrial district was a lot more quiet than the residential district, but that figured. Everything stopped for the night, or, at least, most of it did. A few distant rumbles of machines were still audible, coming from somewhere far away.

She wasn't worried about that, though. She needed to find Dracul and end the nightmare that had become her life as of late. She put her attention towards trying to sense Dracul, even though she wasn't sure how the power itself worked. Nothing felt particularly out of the ordinary, except for the feeling of her eyeball knitting itself back together. Her vision was coming back, albeit slowly. She would need everything she could get to fight Dracul, she was sure of that much.

She kept walking, sure that Dracul had to be around somewhere. The address the bodies had been found at wasn't far from where she was, and she decided that it would be the best place to look. She started to run, not wasting any more time.

Street lights and factory buildings whizzed past as she rocketed herself down the street, but no sign of the vampire showed itself. It was several minutes before Yang felt something, and when she did, she stopped dead in her tracks.

The undeniable feeling of being watched washed over her as she turned a corner, and her head turned almost automatically to face an alleyway to her right.

A tall figure stood at the other end, about twenty feet away, silhouetted by a dimly flickering light slightly above their head. Their eyes almost seemed to glow through the night at her, sending a chill up her spine.

Ozpin's caution about attacking innocents echoed through her mind, but there was no mistake here. What she was looking at had to be a vampire, there was nothing else it could be. Without a second thought, she charged, bringing her fists up and cocking Ember Celica back to deliver a fiery strike. The figure remained, unfazed by her sudden attack. As her gauntlet let out a roar, spitting glowing hot dust in their direction, Yang could have sworn that she saw an eyebrow raise before the figure disappeared down a path Yang hadn't seen from her angle.

Whoever they were, they moved fast enough that Yang could hardly follow fast enough to keep up. The dust round hit the brick wall behind where they'd been standing, knocking a sizeable crater into its structure and blackening the already peeling paint. Yang was quick behind it, not happy about the idea of losing her prey so fast.

As she turned the corner, she found the figure standing much closer than she'd expected. Its hands were up, displaying thin, spider-like fingers, and dark, sunken eyes looked down at her. Pale lips were stretched in a coy smile, giving the colorless face a kind of calculated intimidation.

Its lips parted, and began to speak before Yang could react.

"Well, well, well, I see that Miss Rose couldn't keep well enough to herself. I can't say I'm surprised."

Yang threw another punch, aimed directly at the individual's head, but in the moment it should have hit, he moved his head away leisurely, as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

"I saw your little 'accident' on the bridge. Tip for the future, go along the support rails, or better yet, fly over. The more distance you can put between you and the water, the better. You've got potential, I'm sure. Your sister's natural talents must have rubbed off on you somehow. Maybe you would be a little more open to the deal I offered her, hm?"

Yang didn't pause in her assault. Nothing Dracul said was going to convince her to stop. He didn't just deserve to die, he needed to die. He dodged a few more strikes just as easily as the first, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"You know, you could stand to work on your listening skills. Perhaps this is not a good place for a talk. I'll meet you elsewhere. Follow me, if you're interested."

With that, he dashed backwards, and as Yang tried to grab him, she felt the fabric of his clothes slip through her fingers. As he swiftly disappeared, Yang called out, "Get back here! I'm not done with you!"

She gave chase, throwing punches and firing rounds at every convenience. He would jump to the top of a building with little effort, while Yang would have to leap from wall to wall just to keep up.

After a minute of chase, Dracul stopped, saying, "Alright that's enough fun, time to get to business," before his body dissolved into a black mist. Yang threw a punch, but her actual blow did nothing. The only reaction was from the roar of fire that followed. It wasn't enough, and the mist slipped through the cracks in a nearby skylight and into the factory below.

Yang knelt down, checking for any kind of trickery, before kicking in the glass and jumping down in pursuit. The building was black, save the skylight above shining down moon light. Despite the darkness, Yang could see every detail perfectly, and saw her prey sitting on top of a box, looking directly at her.

"Sit down for a moment. You can go back to trying to kill me later, just listen for a second." Yang let out a growl in displeasure, but did so anyways. She was on his turf now, and she wouldn't be surprised if he had more than a couple traps prepared.

"Good. If only your sister listened as well as you did." He commented before placing his hand to his face. Black mist erupted from his body for a moment before settling. Yang took up a defensive stance, but stopped herself from reacting until she was sure he was trying to attack.

Dracul's features changed completely. Where before he clearly looks slightly inhuman, now he seemed indistinguishable from one. His eyes were a light blue, his hair had grown long and black, flowing with natural waves. Pointed nose, a chiseled face and a well-kept short beard. Yang would admit he was certainly very handsome, but didn't let that hold any water about how she felt toward him.

"Holding disguises is one thing you'll never get used to. I've been doing this for a long time and it never gets easier to maintain them."

"You wanted to talk. So just get to the point. I don't have all night."

"Agreed, let's get to it. Would you please stop trying to kill me?"

"What? I mean, no!" She replied, caught slightly off guard that he would just try asking.

He shrugged to himself before continuing, "As I suspected, but you never know. There may be an occasion when my good manners are rewarded. Very well then, what do I need to do to get you off my case? Turn your friends and family? Money? I have means of getting all kinds of things, so if you're willing to just go somewhere else and leave Vale, I'm willing to bend over to get it."

Yang couldn't believe what she was hearing. This monster she had imagined in her head was practically begging her to let him live. She couldn't tell if it was some kind of act, an honest attempt at a business deal, or if he was really that pathetic.

"Are you really just asking me to leave you alone? I don't think that a vampire Ozpin is hesitant to fight could be as pathetic as you."

"Think what you will about me, it means little. And the reason I'm just asking is because I don't want to deal with a runt like you. The man who turned me let me live because I was strong enough to break his grip. That's a policy I have kept for the few 'children' I've had. It's the only reason your sister still lives… Well, maybe lives isn't the right word, but you understand. I could easily kill you and your sister, but why go to the trouble when I could just have you leave me in peace? Who knows, maybe you'll be reckless like the others and scare people out of your communities and into Vale. That's the only thing you brats are good for, it seems."

"And if I keep trying to kill you?"

"Then I guess I'll have to kill you, and despite how she acts, your sister still cares about you and your little friends she enthralled. She'll find out eventually and come hunting for me in vengeance, and it'll just be too much of a bother. I came Vale to get away from all the work you have to do out in the wilds."

"Guess I'm going to have to go break your heart then!" She said with a grin as she resumed her combat stance.

Dracul but a hand to his head and started rubbing his temple, "That was a terrible pun, and I would know, There was a town fool long ago that annoyed me to the point that I ripped his head off and put it on a spike. Didn't even drink his blood."

"You talk too much."

"And you're a simple minded fool who has yet to realize what a boon she has."

"It's not a boon! It's a curse!" She yelled back.

"I think your sister would disagree with you on that." He paused for a moment, smiling. " Don't believe me? You can just ask her. She's only two buildings over."

"What!" Yang yelled, the revelation completely changing her mode of thought.

"Yes, take the door behind you, make a left and it'll be the second building on your left. The one with the overwhelming smell of blood."

Yang was gone before he even finished. He sighed as he watched her go. Standing, Dracul brushed off his cloths and made his way out, not at all intending to be here if his daughter decided she wanted to fight him too. He stepped up to the door, but paused as someone else entered the frame first.

"Leaving so soon? I had popcorn and everything set up, and I'm not leaving till I have a show."

"It's never easy, is it?" He growled at the figure.

* * *

Author's Note:

As with every other chapter, Leivve was a massive help. wouldn't happen without you, bro.

Leave a review! do it!


	9. Chapter 9

The night air didn't offer Yang any sense of relief or comfort as she left the elder vampire behind. The building Dracul had mentioned stood out to her now, the lights were on, and she could hear voices bouncing around from between the buildings. Voices weren't the only thing she could hear, of course. There were also muffled screams, the bloodcurdling kind that made chills go down people's spines.

She narrowed her eyes and started off towards the warehouse, steeling herself for the worst. Something gave her the feeling that Patch was only the tip of the iceberg, but how much worse could Ruby do? She was her little sister, after all.

Yang had to forcibly keep the memories of seeing her sister suck some innocent woman dry from entering her mind again. It wasn't easy.

She shook her head, and focused herself back on the task at hand. The best angle of approach was difficult to figure out. She didn't know if she could make the jump to the rooftop of the next building, and it was a chance she decided against taking. Maybe Ozpin's talking about the importance of not diving headfirst into fights was getting to her. Or maybe she just wanted to be as careful as she could when Ruby was involved.

Regardless of why, she dropped down to the concrete ground, and started to pick her way towards the warehouse. The faint screams got louder the closer she got. She could only hear them because of her enhanced senses, otherwise the abandoned facility would've appeared deathly quiet. Screaming wasn't the only sound she could hear, though. The closer she got, the clearer a familiar humming sound grew. The tune was one of Ruby's favorite songs, and the voice was unmistakable.

Yang came into view of the large building. Ruby was in there. Maybe she could talk some sense into her. Or beat it into her, if need be. She hated to even think about it, but if she had to judge from their last encounter, the talking wouldn't go very well.

At least this time Yang would be ready. Ozpin had beat the snot out of her, but it wasn't for nothing. She was faster than last time, stronger than last time, and smarter about both their capabilities. She would be ready for anything Ruby could throw at her.

The large loading bay doors were closed, and every side door she tried ended up being locked. The only door she had yet to try was one that, if the other warehouse had been any example, would lead into the catwalks above the floor. She could've tried her powers, but luckily enough, a fire escape made the extra effort unnecessary.

When she reached it, she turned the rusty handle, hoping more than anything that it would open. It did. She pushed the door open as slowly as she could, and as she started to poke her head in, she was assaulted by a warm, iron smell. It overpowered every other scent and burned her nostrils. Not only that, but it also made the dryness of her throat and mouth even more impossible to ignore.

The unmistakable smell of blood wafted from the unsettling warmth of the warehouse, seeping out into the night like a poison. Yang's nose wrinkled, but her body drew forward almost of its own volition. She was a full step inside of the door before she realized what she was doing, and pulled herself to a stop. It took several seconds to collect herself, and when she did, she knelt down to look around.

She had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from retching, gasping, drooling, or some combination of the three.

Almost the entire floor of the building was covered in a thick sheen of blood. Numerous spatterings covered the walls, a few even reaching heights above the catwalk, more than a story up from the floor.

The source of the screaming quickly became evident. There were people tied to almost every surface available, fifty or more, at least that she could see, all with their hands and feet bound to support columns or protrusions on the wall, whatever was available. Some thrashed against their bonds, some wept quietly to themselves, and some laid still, barely breathing and with broken, thousand-yard stares. Relegated to a pile in one of the corners of the room, several bodies were perfectly still, shriveled and pale.

And there, in the middle of it all, was Ruby. Her sister, the little girl whose life's goal had been to help people ever since she could read, was coated head to toe in blood.

She was hunched over a limp figure, holding it by the shoulders as its strength gave out. Yang could see the color draining from what little she could see of the figure's skin, and knew it was already too late to save them.

Ruby pulled her mouth away from the person's neck, and Yang thought for a brief moment that she was going to speak. A hollow pop resounded off the walls of the large building as Ruby jerked their head to the side. The corpse fell limply to the ground, where the last of whatever blood was left in its body leaked out onto the floor.

Ruby turned as she swallowed one last gulp, and motioned wordlessly to someone Yang couldn't see. Then Jaune came forward, shoes easy to hear as he plodded through the sticky blood. He took the body over his shoulder and walked it over to the pile, where it was unceremoniously dumped like slaughtered livestock.

Ruby said something, but Yang couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear anything. The whole world seemed to ring as her eyes slowly shifted over everything around her. Was it even real? She had never seen this much blood in once place. She'd never imagined she would, either. And the people, tied up and screaming like something out of a horror movie.

She blinked slowly. What was she supposed to do?

Her hand fell away from her mouth limply, and although she didn't realize it, she spoke out loud. "Ruby? What is this…"

Ruby's head jerked in her direction, and Yang clapped a hand over her mouth again. The two stared at each other for a few moments, Yang not sure how to react, and Ruby narrowing her eyes and gazing suspiciously up at her sister.

"Yang? What are you doing here? And why are you just watching me like that? It's a little weird."

Yang started to stammer a response, putting a hand on the railing and pointing aimlessly at the room. Before she could make any intelligible speech, Ruby turned away slightly, putting a hand over her stomach protectively. "Don't even think about hitting me again. I swear, I'll never talk to you again if you do!"

It took Yang a moment to formulate a response, and when she finally did, she replied with a forced smile that she hoped didn't look too fake.

"Of course! I, uh, heard you were in town. Ruby, are you going to kill all these people?"

Ruby looked around at the gruesome scene with a wide smile on her face. Her gait was a little too bouncy for Yang's comfort as she walked over to one of what Yang could only assume was a soon-to-be victim.

"Well, I was planning on it, but you can have a few if you want. Things got a little crazy last time, huh? You calmed down a little, right?"

Yang nodded, quickly looking around for a way down.

"Yeah, totally calm. Sorry about that, by the way. The whole leaving you to burn in the sun thing. I just want to help you!"

Ruby laughed, and grabbed a hold of one of her captives. With one smooth motion, she pulled on his bonds, snapping the rope that tethered him in place and dragging him to his feet. His body started to shudder, and Yang could see his eyes fill with tears as he looked at Ruby with a terrified expression, doing his best to yell past the gag.

"Alright, apology accepted. Here, you can have this guy if you want. I've got more than enough. The stairs are over there, by the way."

She pointed to a small staircase at one end of the building that Yang hadn't seen. Her sister rushed quickly over to it, but stopped when she saw Weiss standing at the base. She was looking blankly towards the center of the room, hardly moving, even to breathe. Yang could tell right away that something was wrong with her, then she remembered Ruby's unfortunate proficiency for mind control.

Ruby must have noticed her hesitation, because she called out, "Weiss, say hi!"

Weiss turned to Yang, gave a stiff courtesy, and said, "Hello, Yang. It's wonderful to see you."

Her usually immaculate dress was streaked with blood spatters, and ripped in a few places, but she seemed to be physically fine. She stared at Yang with eyes like a porcelain doll, and a shiver ran up Yang's back.

"Oh, hey, Weiss. You look… really good."

She didn't respond, and Yang kept walking.

When she stepped on the floor, a sickening squelching sound came from beneath her heel. The blood stuck to her shoe with each step. She tried to keep her eyes up, but the view there wasn't much better. Ruby was still holding the man by his wrist, and it looked like she was starting to crush the bone.

She hurried over to her sister, and took the man from Ruby as gently as she could. His eyes were fixed on her now, and his struggles to escape felt like a toddler flailing against an adult.

Ruby was watching eagerly, and when she noticed Yang looking at her, said, "What? I just want to see how you do it! It'll be awesome!"

Yang looked back at the man. He was panicked, sweating bullets, and still trying to plead for his life. The harder Yang looked, the more she swore she could see beyond what she ever had before. Each individual particle of sweat, every vein and artery, she could even see the blood pumping through his body.

She started to lean forwards. Her throat felt like sandpaper, and her mouth was as dry as a desert. Maybe Ruby was right about the whole thing. What harm could one try do?

Her jaw started to open, and she let out one long breath. The thirst was about to end…

She jerked back as something clicked in her head, and the consequences of what she was doing flooded into her head. She threw the man away, using a little more strength than she meant to, sending him tumbling into the wall across from her. He groaned in pain, but didn't try to run.

Yang looked down at her hands. They were shaking. She wasn't okay. She'd almost killed a man, or worse. Ozpin's warnings about control came echoing back in her mind, and she did everything to steel herself.

"What's the matter? Didn't like the look of him? Don't worry, I've got tons of-"

"Ruby, listen. What you're doing isn't right. I know you need to drink, but you don't need this much! This…" Yang gestured around at the horror show around her, "... isn't good. I think I can help you, but you need to work with me here!"

Ruby's eyes narrowed, and her face fell.

"You're not going to eat? Are you sure? You looked really hungry just now. Do you want someone in particular? We could go out and find something, I've gotten really good at finding people! Come on, I can help!"

The excited look was back again, and Ruby reached out, taking one of Yang's hands and pulling her towards the doors.

Her heels dug into the blood-slicked floor as best they could, and when Ruby realized she wasn't moving, she turned around with a confused expression.

"Yang, I don't get what you're doing. You show up, say you want to eat, throw the guy across the room, and now you don't want to go out. You're being really weird, and I'm starting to get worried about you."

Yang pulled her hand away and threw her arms up, exasperated. "You're worried about me? Ruby, you have people tied up! Look at this place! How many people have you killed? I want to help you, but if you keep on like this, then… god dammit, you're not giving me a choice!"

She put her arms up, getting herself ready to fight. She wished there was another way, but Ruby was out of her mind. Oddly, the hooded sister wasn't upset by the revelation. She let out a deep breath and just shook her head, like the whole situation was ridiculous.

"You can't keep going like this without eating Yang. I'll tie you down and force feed you if I have to."

Yang wasn't in the mood to trash talk, sliding a foot back and raising her arms to her fighting stance. She tried to imagine how Ruby would strike. Ruby had Crescent Rose on her waist this time, but she didn't seem to have any interest in reaching for it. One weakness Ruby always had was she wasn't very creative in how to start an attack. She only had two or three ways of engaging an opponent, and if she wasn't using her scythe she would be limited even more.

Yang guessed Ruby would take obvious route and shape shift her arm into a blade or tentacle of some sort to attack her at range, where she was more comfortable engaging people. Yang adjusted her stance, ignoring the fifty sets of eyes now focused on her.

Ruby dropped her shoulders and rolled her eyes. Her hand lashed forward almost faster than Yang could see, but her preparation was rewarded, for, as expected, a black tentacle whipped out from Ruby's wrist going right for Yang. The blonde ducked and rolled back, avoiding the tendril before returning with a sequence of shots from her gauntlets. Instead of aiming for Ruby herself, she let the rounds burst into flame along the length of the tentacle. Each shot detonated on contact, and the Dust blew apart Ruby's unnatural flesh just like it would any kind of Grimm.

Ruby made a gasp of pain, and the tentacle dissolved into black mist. Her hand returned to normal, and she growled angrily at Yang while she rubbed her wrist for a moment.

A few people started making noises through their gags that Yang could only guess was cheering. Jaune, Weiss and the others remained standing like statues, no intents to intervene. Yang slid back into her battle stance, guessing this time Ruby would try something similar, but rush her this time. She was frustrated, which meant she would want to get in her face. A weakness of her pride that she needed to prove herself, whether it was to others, or herself.

Two wicked looking blades took the place of her hands and forearms, and she charged forwards, snarling animalistically. Yang ducked beneath the first swing from her right, then quickly jumped back as Ruby spun around on her heel so her second arm could come in full force from the same side. Yang set herself at the perfect distance for Ruby to lung forward and pierce her torso. A grin spread on Yang's face as Ruby went for the attack. Instead of deflecting it like she normally would, she stepped forward, arm cocked back as the blade penetrated her side. A burst of energy shot up her spine as the black blade punched through her center, and that power escaped through her fist as a right hook connected with the younger girl's jaw. Without any kind of aura to soften the blow, Ruby's bone was no match for Yang's raw strength. Yang could feel several of Ruby's teeth, including an unnaturally sharp one, forced from the gum that held it. The bone itself crunched under the force, and easily gave way.

Time moved in slow motion for Yang as Ruby made a three hundred and sixty degree turn on her heel, with no balance, and no way to remain standing. That didn't stop Yang, though, as she brought her second fist arcing up, it's flight only slowed by the air itself and she drove it full force into Ruby's bloated stomach.

The blow was strong enough to send any regular human into unconsciousness, even before Yang shifted her position, and slammed Ruby down into the concrete floor with the same punch. Her fist still pressed down, keeping Ruby on the ground. Blood erupted from Ruby's mouth like a fountain as the contents of Ruby's stomach escaped the only way they could. The crimson liquid was quickly lost among the rest on the floor. Ruby wasn't moving, but clearly was still alive. Yang caught sight of a white glimmer in the pool of red, and easily fished it out. It was Ruby's left fang, but what shocked Yang was just how long it was, at least half the length of her middle finger. Her fingers quickly darted to her own fangs as she attempted to inspect if hers were just as large as the enamel wedge she had in her hands. Ruby let out a groan as she finally started moving again, causing Yang to end her puzzling and dive on Ruby, attempted to pin Ruby down.

Ruby screamed in rage for Yang to let go. She thrashed about in her grip growling and snarling, continuing to scream. She held strong, refusing to let her sister hurt anyone else.

"Ruby, please, listen to me! I don't want to fight! I want to go back to how things were, when we were normal! I want to go back to teasing my little sister about boys, and hanging out with my friends, and being a family again! Why can't we do that?"

Ruby responded, "We are a family! Me, and my friends! You're the one who keeps attacking us! I wish we could be a family too, but you're insane!"

Her final word was punctuated with what Yang could only perceive as a full-body spasm, and a second later, thick spines exploded out of Ruby's body, stabbing into Yang and lifting her off her sister.

Her eyes went wide with shock, and her body suddenly became much harder to move. The spines had lodged themselves mostly in her joints, effectively paralyzing her. She didn't even realize her heart still beat, perhaps just out of habit, but she right now it hurt beyond measure as she could feel it pounding right up against one of the spines that went through her chest. Power erupted through her as her aura reacted, building up in response to the damage, but it barely helped. Even pulling her muscles so hard they were on the verge of snapping only bent the spines slightly. She struggled, and as she did so, Ruby stood up.

Without pausing, Ruby bent the spines downward, and reached out with a hand. She took a fistful of Yang's hair, and slammed her head backwards onto the concrete. Yang felt bones crack, and her vision blur. The spines pulled themselves free from her body, but before Yang could move, the hand on her hair moved down to her face, and she felt herself lift off the ground before connecting again even harder than the first time. Ruby continued to slam Yang into the concrete at full force, even long after the floor had started to crack under the impacts, each blow followed by a grunt of rage from the smaller girl, until finally her anger left and she released Yang. Ruby fell back, breathing heavily before changing to long deep breaths to calm herself.

When she was finally calm, she let out one last breath. Yang's head was still in one piece after her little tantrum.

"I told you not to punch me in the stomach" She commented as she straightened back up on her feet, letting out a second deep breath.

"There, now we can get something into your stomach, alright? That's all you need, I'm sure. I get a little mad when I'm hungry too. Jaune!"

She called over her shoulder, and Jaune came walking to her side with a blank expression on his face.

"Get something for Yang to eat. That will calm her down."

Without speaking, Jaune turned to the nearest prisoner and started to untie their bindings. Yang groaned, rolling over and hoping that she could regenerate quickly.

"Ruby, please, I don't need this. I'm not hungry!" Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way out. "I'm just… it's all…"

A light flicked on in her head, and she did her best to make it believable.

"Dracul! He told me he was coming for you, because you were getting too powerful! He wants to kill you before you can take him one on one. He told you to get out of Vale, right? Now you're back, and he isn't happy."

Ruby's expression changed. A shadow fell over her face, and her focus seemed to leave Yang for a second. She spoke to herself almost too quietly for Yang to hear.

"He knows? That was fast. I thought… He won't be happy. Leave? I don't want to go back…"

Yang could see her opportunity growing, and was quick to press forward.

"He's going to make you go back to Patch, Ruby! Or worse, he's going to kill you! You aren't strong enough to fight him on your own, but if we work together, we could take him out! He's close, I saw him earlier."

Ruby looked towards the ground, thinking. As she did, Yang could feel her body pulling itself back together. She had to keep going.

"Come on, we both want this. If we take him out, Vale is ours! We can… we can take it over, and do whatever we want. We can be a family again! But only if Dracul is dead!"

Jaune returned with a woman, who had given up fighting and only stood, quivering in fear and averting her eyes. He gave her a soft push towards Ruby, just hard enough that the woman brushed Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby turned and looked at her, causing her to shudder and fall to the floor, starting to beg and grovel for her life. Ruby looked back at Yang with a strange little grin, and she could see that Ruby's fang was already growing back.

"You're sure you don't want anything? Saving it for when we own this city?"

Yang nodded, not letting her discomfort show on her face. "Yeah, something like that."

Ruby held out a hand, which Yang was somewhat hesitant to take. Her sister had, after all, nearly caved her skull in just moments ago.

"I don't want us to fight anymore, so I want you to promise!" She commanded, holding up her pinky for Yang to shake.

She kept a careful eye on her sister's face. It was the strangest thing; there was no trace of the anger that had just consumed her.

How reliable the promise was, she didn't know, but it was the best shot she had.

She wrapped her pinkie around her sister's, nodding and saying, "I promise." Ruby gave her an elated smile, then rushed forwards.

Yang drew in a sharp breath, trying to react as fast as she could. Had she let Ruby trick her? She couldn't have really let that happen.

Ruby's arms wrapped around her waist, and Yang realized she was being hugged. She returned the gesture, patting the top of Ruby's head. The hug was warm, but it wasn't from Ruby's body. It was from the thick veneer of coagulated blood that caked almost her entire body. Yang held in another gag.

She peeled her sister off and pointed in the direction of the warehouse Dracul had been in.

"We should probably get this thing done. Gotta get that crown quick, right?"

Ruby giggled and nodded, speaking to no one in particular as she started to walk towards the doors. "Someone get this open! Me and Yang are going out!"

From somewhere Yang hadn't seen, Nora walked towards a button, pushing it and turning to look at Ruby. She had the same dead expression as Ruby's other friends, and her front was covered with not only blood, but also a series of scratches, bruises, and small cuts. Several lengths of rope hung off her body in neat coils, ready for use. Yang felt her stomach churn as she realized that Nora was who tied people up.

She hoped that they wouldn't remember what they'd done, for their sakes.

Nora hit a button, and the large loading bay doors started to grind open. A small lip in the floor prevented any of the blood from leaking out, which Yang guessed was lucky. At least there wouldn't be too much cleanup for whoever found all this.

Ruby stepped out first, and Yang followed, noting the footprints they left behind. Her front was covered in blood. No amount to washing was going to be able to get it out.

She shook her head. She needed to focus, now more than ever. Ruby asked where the warehouse was that she'd seen Dracul in, and Yang was quick to point it out. After she'd acquired her target, Ruby started to walk faster, an excited bounce in her step. All the the while, she chattered excitedly to Yang about what she had been doing, and why she left Patch. Yang wished she'd stop. Apparently, the people of Patch all had a funny taste that made them taste stale after a while. Yang shuddered to think what that taste could be.

The warehouse Yang led her sister towards seemed eerily quiet, but everything seemed that way now. Yang could still hear the muffled sounds of Ruby's prisoners, thought they started to fade the further they got. When Yang came to one of the doors, she saw that something was wrong.

More of the building's insides seemed to have been roughed up or destroyed than she had left them. Boxes were smashed in, shards of glass were scattered across the floor, and Yang could hear something from further inside.

If she were human, the darkness around her would have been like a solid wall. It was easy to see through, however, and she could make out dancing shadows further into the facility. She made to point them out to Ruby, but her sister was already off, moving towards the faint sound like a crimson streak.

Keeping up wasn't easy. Ruby was able to dash fluidly over everything in her way without making a sound, where Yang had to balance between moving as fast as possible, and staying quiet.

Ruby gradually disappeared behind more and more of the clutter, and Yang did her best to keep up. The sounds of battle were close by, but it didn't sound like Ruby. Voices were too deep and masculine. She heard a heavy impact somewhere ahead of her, then spied a figure soaring through the air.

She slid to a stop as Professor Ozpin came crashing down on one of the large crates to her side. He grunted as a large plume of dust and wooden splinters exploded out around him. Yang stepped towards him, but before she could get close, he picked himself up and brought his cane to bear on Yang.

"Not one step closer, or I…"

His voice trailed off as he realized he was looking at Yang, and for a brief moment he seemed to relax before his eyes suddenly narrowed and his body tensed again.

"Yang?" He seemed suspicious. She took another step forwards, concerned, but he held up a hand. "I said no closer. Now…"

He started to think, and from somewhere behind her, Yang heard Dracul shout, "What's the matter, Oz? Been looking for me too long? Maybe you should have brought others!"

A mirthful laugh rose, and Yang could tell it was getting closer, and fast. She looked back to Ozpin, confused, and was taken slightly off-guard when he asked, "What book did I explain you and your sister's condition, and where did we have the conversation?"

Yang stopped. "Uh, it was… it was The Atlas, right? We talked about it in my dorm room. Why are you asking all this?"

Ozpin put his cane back down, leaning his weight on it and taking a deep breath.

"It's a relief you showed up when you did. Dracul is starting to wear me down. Ruby is here with you, correct?" Yang nodded, and Ozpin continued. "Good. You two have to finish him here, and now. Otherwise, I fear you will run out of options with Ruby."

His attention was briefly grabbed by Dracul's footsteps, which now sounded much closer, and he held out his cane.

"Here. This will make the battle much easier. The end is capped with pure silver, something very dangerous to vampires. If you can put it through his heart, that will end it. He will be cautious if he sees you with it, but he knows its effectiveness as well, and won't hesitate to use it. Don't worry about breaking it, that cane has been used for many generations before my own."

The hollow click of footsteps was almost on them now, and Yang knew Ozpin had to leave.

"Will do. Now go, you have to! But… I don't know, stay close, I guess? In case something goes wrong? I'll do everything I can, but maybe you should hang around…"

Her voice trailed off, but Ozpin put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll never abandon my students, Yang. I have faith in you, and in your sister."

Yang nodded, and turned to face the direction of Dracul's footsteps. It was less than a second before he stepped from around a corner, and an amused expression passed over his face.

"Well, well, well, here you are again. You met with your sister, then? I imagine you two had a wonderful little chat."

Yang growled at him in response. He smiled as he raised his hand toward her, making a finger gun aimed right at her head.

Before she could react, something connected with her eyes, blinding her. She wiped it away finding it to be some kind of liquid. Once her vision was clear she found her entire front covered in a fresh coating of blood. Dracul had a dumbstruck look on his face. as he looked down toward the floor.

A black blade was protruding from the center of his chest. Ruby appeared behind him and grabbed his throat with her free hand.

"It was great actually. We kill you, then we get to rule Vale."

"If I had a coin for every time-" He stopped himself as his hands surged forward. He held them in front of himself while smoke erupted from his hands. Yang watched a handle appear in his grip before it was unceremoniously thrown up against his chest. Ruby went wide eyed before coughing up a small torrent of blood. The blade in Dracul's chest dissipated and Ruby was raised up off the ground as the elder vampire leaned forward.

Yang saw a blade piercing her sister's body. This one wasn't some kind of shapeshifting power though, this one was actual steel. The one edged sword was pulled from both their torsos and Ruby fell to a ground a hole in her chest dangerously close to her heart.

"Hm. Your breast did a better job of diverting the blow then I thought it would." He commented before delivering a solid kick, sending Ruby deep into the factory, and breaking more than a couple things as she went.

Just like how he changed his face from before, smoke erupted from the rest of his body blocking him from view. Yang jumped back, holding the cane in front of her as she waited for what would happen. Ozpin jumped back even further as quickly started to back away out of the fight.

When Dracul emerged from his smoke screen he looked like something out of a fantasy book. Armored vambraces and shin guards and a Cuirass over his center. In his right hand he held a single edged blade, with a ring guard. His left was a claw, each part of his hand given extra armor to protect it when he swiped. Dracul shifted his weight and made a quick kick with his right foot, causing another three blades to slide into place at the front of his toe.

Yang made a small gulp, as she realized that she might be over her head a little.

"What's the matter? You were so confident before." He taunted as his foot slammed down with enough force to break the tiles beneath.

Yang sorted her nerves out, and took a defensive stance. She had fought sword opponents plenty of times. Heck, she even used them for a year when she first started at Signal, and a claw was no different than a beowolf, or that one girl from Junior's club. Reassured in her abilities to combat the man before him, she adopted a defensive stance, wanting to observe his style for a bit before going on the offence.

Dracul, taking the hint, rushed forward with speed that could have matched Ruby's. He jumped before making contact, twisting around as his foot went up before slamming back down on Yang. She managed to block the blades with Ozpin's cane, but the force of the blow caused it to be ripped from her hands as he fell to the floor. Before she could recover, Dracul's claw followed up and all four fingers made their mark as they sliced open her skin, leaving four long cuts through her face, including her eye.

Another attack, this time from the sword, left a cut across her waist to her opposite breast before the tip found its way to her side, piercing her flank, clean through her ribcage, all the way out the other side. The weapon was violently pulled from her body and she felt herself stagger. Her blood must have been replaced with magma as it burned through her, even her heart burned as it pushed through.

She looked up with her good eye to see Dracul just coming out of a twist on his heel. Both hands were on his sword as he made a large swing, aiming right for her neck. Yang threw her fist up to intercept the blade. No feedback registered in her mind that she blocked it. Only the thought that she wasn't dead went through her mind, so she must have succeeded. She cocked back her other arm, bringing it smashing into Dracul's side with as much force as she could muster.

The fire in her started to die down a little. She could register the sound of Dracul's armor fracturing, pieces falling and scattering into the darkness. Ridding herself of the pressure rapidly building in her body, she slammed her fists together, casting as much of it outward as she could. The space around her was wreathed in fire, and Dracul was forced to take several steps back.

Her body was rapidly repairing itself, even her blind eye was already stitched together and starting to bring depth back to the world.

She watched Dracul carefully, making sure she could see every single minute movement he made. Nothing he did was going to slip past her. He picked himself off, brushing off some dirt that settled on his cloths. His armor was repairing itself before her eyes, and she wondered if it actually was steel or not.

He rose an eyebrow as he looked at the circle of flame. "A clever little trick, Yang. I must say, I'm impressed. Not many people retain their aura after turning. You must be a very special case. If your turning was intentional, I'm sure you would have made a fine vampire. But, unfortunately, you backed the wrong horse. Now you and your sister have to die."

Yang could see Ruby approaching again, and quickly looked back to her opponent. "I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you. You've got two of us to kill, and we only have to take one of you down."

Dracul gave her a small smirk, and said, "If you really think it's that simple, you have a very painful lesson to learn. But you have nothing to worry about, I will be more than happy to teach you."

Yang could see Ruby getting closer much faster, and she could also see the huge silhouette of Crescent Rose behind her. If she could get a clean hit off, it would be devastating, but Yang was sure that Dracul would be able to see it coming.

It was a basic concept of teamwork. She could see what Ruby was doing, and knew how she could help. Without a second of hesitation, she exploded out towards Dracul, feet grazing the top of the fire as she went. Dracul raised his weapons to intercept her, but Yang stopped short of being impaled on his blade, throwing a flurry of punches and blasting as many dust cartridges as she could. His eyes widened slightly, and his face twisted into an irritated glare.

The base of his blade was more than able to dissipate the heat of her attacks, but his focus was entirely on her.

Ruby lept into the air, bringing Crescent Rose back for what Yang could recognize would be a devastating blow, even to an elder vampire. She focused on Dracul again, making sure he was as preoccupied as possible.

Ruby seemed to straighten her body in midair, trajectory changing so that she would come down directly on her target. Her cape whipped and fluttered as she rocketed downwards, and she let a piercing cry escape her lips. Dracul's head turned slightly in her direction, but Yang redoubled her efforts, starting to advance on him as she attacked.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Dracul was momentarily stunned. Yang could see countless thoughts running through his eyes at blistering speeds, but none helped him.

Ruby twirled before holding Crescent Rose out, creating the appearance of a blood-red wheel of death spinning fast enough to appear as a mere blur bearing down on the vampire. Crescent rose met his thick chestplate, and time seemed to slow down for Yang as she watched the blade burrow into the armor.

Dracul was lifted off of his feet, dragged backwards by the immense momentum Ruby had built up as Crescent Rose continued to bear into him, the scythe's tip appearing through his the back of his shoulder.

At the last second, he threw his hand up, and the blade cut clean through his arm. He leaned into the attack causing the tip to catch the edge of his armor. At the same time, Yang threw her fist for her own attack, but hit nothing as Dracul was thrown across the building again by her sister's attack.

The girls watched him spiral away at breakneck speed. Rolling through the air, he landed on the wall, feet first. Both girls were taken aback by the fact there was no impact. He simply stopped upon contact with the wall. The two girls looked at each other, but their attention was grabbed when Dracul threw his arms out at them.

Boxes and heavy equipment exploded into the air, as two black serpent-like creatures raised up from the shadows. Both made loud hissing like noises as the arched down to the ground before quickly making their way toward their prey, pushing aside everything in their way.

Yang asked, "Can you do that?"

"No, and I've tried."

Both dived out of the way as the two heads struck at them, caving a large divot in the ground where they had been a moment before. Yang tucked into a roll and let her momentum take her to her feet. Landing right next to one of the snake's body, she unloaded a blast into its flank, only for the shot to repel off of the black scales and explode in her face. Yang felt the front of her body singe as the fire licked her flesh, the light momentarily blinding her. A long object impacted her side, and she was knocked off of her feet as she flew through the air.

Ruby called for her as she watched Dracul go by, surfing on the top of the snake's body. Gravity didn't seem to be affecting him as he quickly glided his way up to the snake's head. The creature turned to face them, but didn't strike. The second one slithered around its body, encircling it. After a second, the two started merging together.

Yang's eyes lost focus as she tried to watch the process. The two snakes began to spew smoke from every scale, and at the top, she could just see Dracul smiling down at her.

Finally, the black mass started to move, bending down toward them. Both girls prepared to dodge, but held position until they knew where to dodge to. Smoke faded from the creature to reveal a pair of nostrils. As more and more smoke fled from sight, jaws with rows of large razor sharp teeth, Glowing red eyes, four legs, and even a pair of wings billowed into sight. If it wasn't for it's pure black body, Yang would have thought she was looking at an ancient Grimm.

The jaws snapped open while the back of its throat illuminated. Both of them dived to opposite sides as a torrent of blaze consumed the spot they were just in and everything behind them. Yang came out of her roll and fired a few shots at Dracul, only to miss when the dragon-like creature raised its head up.

Dracul lept off the head as the creature reached forward with its jaws open. Yang fired off more shots, using them to propel her back, away from the beast. Its scales were too thick, though, and her shots did nothing to slow it as it quickly caught up. Her bones crunched as the jaws snapped closed around her. One row of teeth went through her collar, the other through her pelvis.

Ruby raised Crescent Rose up to stop Dracul's foot as he came down off the dragon's head. When his talon's stopped, he quickly knelt down and brought his foot around to kick her in the side of the head. He slipped off her metal shaft, landing gracefully on the ground as she fell over. When she stilled, he rolled the blade in his hands going for a thrust right at her heart. Cement cracked as the blade failed to connect. Ruby's body already taking the form of mist.

The young vampire moved past him, reforming at his back. Dracul lashed out with his claw, only for her to lean back and avoid it. His sword broke free of the floor, making the crack bigger as it came down overhead at Ruby. With the spear tip of her scythe she parried it to the side, before bringing the bladed head up to swing at his neck.

The elder vampire knew what to do though, and moved in further, shoulder bashing the shaft as he brought his claw up to strike at her throat. Ruby released her right hand from her weapon and intercepted Dracul's arm. Her fist connected with his palm and the fingers curled in around her wrist, the points digging deep into the flesh. Metal snapped though as out of the top of Dracul's hand as a black spike broke through. The spike kept growing and growing, taking the elder off his feet and flying across the room before it connected with a wall, and Dracul hanging by his hand next to the top. Ruby winced at the five long cuts in her arm that were carved in as she pushed Dracul away.

Crescent Rose folded up into its rifle form and she leveled it at his head, eyeing him through the scope just as he flashed an evil grin. Ruby pulled the trigger just as a massive force collided with her side, making her shot go wide. Her spike derooted from the wall and Dracul landed with perfect pose, brushing off his armor for a second before walking forward.

Ruby let herself take her mist form, a moment later realizing just how close she was to crashing into the wall. She took a position on the catwalk just above taking in the scene below. Yang was in the dragon's maw, being thrashed about, while she herself pounded into its snout with both arms trying to free herself. The tail was still lashing about suggesting that was what hit her a moment before hand. Dracul was walking across the floor directly toward her. The same smile on his face as he casually swung the blade about in front of him.

"Yang!" She called, catching her sister's attention who stopped her punching to listen. "Sunrise!"

The blonde grinned as she cocked back her arms, receiving a satisfying cocking sound as the shells primed themselves. She concentrated her aura so the dust would form into a long range projectile then started throwing her fist out full speed, putting as many rounds into the air as she could.

Dracul paused, not recognizing what was happening, only seeing Yang suddenly firing shots into the air, well above his head. Turning to his daughter he saw her taking aim with her rifle, but again not at him. As the glowing orbs passed overhead, the bang of Ruby's sniper rifle echoed in the building, before following up with a loud boom as her shots intercepted Yang's midflight. Fire exploded into life, the roaring flames falling right on Dracul, as he found himself flinching, throwing up his arms in a desperate attempt to shield himself.

The center of the factory was now consumed in fire, burning the wood, grease, oil, equipment and anything else it could touch. The dragon holding Yang suddenly lost its form, causing Yang to fall to the ground as it quickly evaporate into nothing. She looked around only to see fire. A metal glint caught her eye, and she identified Ozpin's cane next to the flames. She dashed forward hoping to grab it as the fire slowly moved toward it.

Her hand grasped it, and she started to pull it away from the blaze. An armored foot slammed down on the cane before she could lifted it from the ground, and she looked up to see Dracul glaring down at her despite several spots on his person still burning, with hate in his eyes. Yang felt her whole body freeze when their eyes met, as some invisible force seemed to pass through her eyes and was crushing up against her brain. What felt like a wall of some kind in her mind was quickly crumbling like paper.

"Get away from my sister!"

Crescent Rose came down on over Dracul's shoulder, and with the blade, he was thrown across the factory. Ruby twisted around as the blade folded up, and she aimed the spear tip at the elder vampire, before firing a shot and sending it flying across the building to impale him to the wall.

Ruby looked back to Yang and smiled as she helped her up. Yang didn't move for a second until she realized her mind wasn't being crushed anymore. Upon seeing her sister, she returned the smile.

"Is that Ozpin's cane?" She asked, looking down at the object in her sister's hand.

"It's tipped with silver, which will apparently kill a vampire."

"Oh! Can I?" She asked, taking the cane from her sister before she was actually given permission.

"Ruby what are you-" She stopped when Ruby took her mist form and quickly moved through the flaming building to Dracul. The elder vampire growled in frustration as he tried to free himself from his impalement. Parts of his body were trying to shapeshift, or turn to mist, but the fire still burning him kept it from doing so completely. He was now trying to use his raw strength to pull the weapon from the wall. He was making some progress, but Ruby was in his face before he could get too far.

"So I got this thing here." She started, twirling the cane in her hands before stopping it, and bringing the tip to rest on the side of his neck. Dracul winced when it made contact, but after that refused to get her any sense of pleasure from the pain.

"Now, as the new Queen of Vale, it's my job to pass judgement on law breakers and just anyone I feel like. And during the time that I've been thinking about it. I have decided to sentence you to death, but I've also decided that you aren't worthy of pleasing your queen with your blood."

She moved the cane from his neck to his chest, right over his heart.

"I think you can just die like the bitch you are!" The steel armor Dracul had didn't seem to resist the soft silver in any means as it passed through to his heart with little effort needed.

When she felt the cane press against his flesh, she lightened up, enjoying the hissing sound that came from within the armor.

She leaned in close, a broad smile on her face. "Maybe we could take this slow. I like it slow."

Dracul struggled for a moment, squirming under his armor to get away from the cane, before spitting a thick wad of blood in her face. Ruby leaned back, an annoyed expression on her face, shaking her head.

"Fine. Maybe we can take it really slow. I could be here for days, you know. How about-"

A hand on her shoulder made her turn, and she found Yang looking at her with a horrified expression. "Ruby, what are you doing?"

Ruby stopped, then glanced back to Dracul. "I'm showing him who's boss. What's the point of beating him if I can't gloat?"

She couldn't understand why tears started to fill Yang's eyes. She started to ask what was wrong, but before she could, Yang shoved her away, and punched the cane through Dracul's chest.

Ruby was about to protest, but almost immediately felt her blood rushing through her head. She fell over and felt stomach empty. Blood spilled from her mouth, before another heave brought more. Yang ran over to Ruby as fast as she could, rubbing her back asking what was wrong. Ruby only continued to be violently ill. Yang pulled out her scroll and emergency dialed Ozpin. The ringing of the phone echoed in her mind, even long after the scroll ceased its tune, and Yang realize everything was moving in slow motion. She looked down at Ruby again, only to see her face down in the pool of bile she just created. A cold flash came over her as she knelt down next to her sister, and a moment later she realize she was on the ground, her head pounding like it'd been stuck with a hammer.

She looked around. All she could see was the fire eating away at the walls around her. She tried to move, but her muscles felt like they had turned to lead.

She blinked, and realized she was being loaded up into the back of an ambulance. Ozpin was already seated along the side, and one of them was medics climbing into sit next to him.

"Rest, Yang." The old man spoke to her when their eyes met, "Everything is going to be ok, just rest. Ruby is fine now, so don't worry."

Yang still wanted to see Ruby, but her body still wasn't moving. She couldn't even work up the energy to be worried. A tube was placed in her both against her consent, and before she realized it was there, water started flowing down it. The pain, like a hot dagger in her throat, subsided as the cool liquid passed through her. Slowly, her head slumped to the side, and her eyelids drifted closed. For the first time in what felt like years, she fell asleep.

* * *

 **EN:** Greetings, it is me, the mighty Leivve. Thanks so much for reading this fic, Lazerbear here wrote. It was fun to help and work with him and I hope he'll invite me to more of his projects (hint, hint). We just have the epilogue to do, to wrap up all the loose ends, but we are glad so many people enjoy it. Make sure to review so we can both improve into the future and continue to write for you all more exciting/scary/action packed/mystery/good stories.


	10. Chapter 10

Ruby's cloak fluttered in the cool meadow breeze as she knelt down. The meadows of Patch were beautiful, especially this time of year. The wind made it look like waves rolled through the grass just beyond the sheer cliff Ruby watched. After a few moments, she tugged at the sides of her cloak, adjusting the hood pulled over her head, pulling it down so that no one would have a chance at recognizing her face.

"Hey Mom, it's me again. I haven't been by in a while, huh? Sorry about that, but Ozpin's got me really busy. We've been training like crazy, but I like it. You would really like to see all the stuff I can do now, Ozpin says it's better than most people twice my age."

She shifted her vision away from the stone, towards the dirt, her voice lowering like she hoped her mother wouldn't hear her.

"I mean, it's not like I can do anything but train, but I guess that's what happens when you…"

Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. Summer didn't want to hear about this, Ruby was sure. She'd already told her mother about what had happened. She could remember draping herself on the stone, bawling and crying, reliving the things she had done in her head. She'd felt disgusting. She still did, but learned to live with it. If anything, it only motivated her more to become a protector.

Becoming a Huntress was out of the question after the massacre she had been responsible for. Not even she was sure what the total body count had been. Someone like her didn't deserve a second chance, but here she was.

A tear welled up in her eye, and she wiped it away, sniffling.

"Yang and the others are graduating today. I would have gone, but Ozpin wouldn't have let me anywhere near the ceremony. Too many people, you know? Dad's going to be there, I think, I'm sure he'll tell you all about it."

An empty silence settled over her, and Ruby slid into a sitting position. How was her dad? She hadn't seen him in a long time. He called from time to time, but things were very strange between them. She was glad he still talked to her at all, really. He made an effort, and in Ruby's almost total social isolation, that meant a lot.

Of course, he hadn't tried as much as Yang. Ruby didn't know if trying more than Yang was even possible. She called Ruby every night, and even when she didn't pick up, left a message asking how she was, and what she'd done that day. Sometimes Ruby played them a few times.

She looked back up at the stone, reading its inscription. She knew it like the back of her hand, but it still felt important to read.

"I really wish you were here, you know? I mean, everyone else seem like they're moving on, but I'm still…" Her voice trailed off as she lost track of what she was going to say. "I should feel good, right? I'm going to be a vampire hunter, like Ozpin! Maybe in a few years, I could even change my name and show my face in public again. I can fight better than almost anyone at Beacon!"

She sighed. Would she be happier if none of this had ever happened? She could imagine her name called out to the crowd at graduation, and the deafening roar that would follow. Yang would love it, she was sure.

"It feels… I don't know, empty. Its everything I ever wanted, but everything seems like so long ago. Maybe I don't really know what I want."

She hadn't grown much in three and a half years. She might have gained an inch or two, if she was lucky, but that didn't seem as important as it once had.

She looked up at the sky, noting that the grey mat of clouds was starting to break up. A small smile crossed her face. Yang would have a better time if the sun was out. One cloud above her split, and a ray of sunshine washed over her. She couldn't help but bow her head ever so slightly, putting her hands in her pockets so that no skin was showing. The sun didn't feel the same as it used to. It wasn't painful, but it was most definitely uncomfortable.

As the light passed, Ruby thought about what to say next. She doubted that her mom wanted to hear about the changes to Crescent Rose Ruby had made, or the conversations she sometimes overheard between Ozpin and Glynda.

She sat in silence, thinking.

"Hey, you! You know you shouldn't be here."

Ruby jumped in fear, her emotions were so wild at the moment she didn't even sense someone approaching. She pulled her hood further down her face hopping they were just confusing her with someone else. The record said she was dead, and someone outsider her friends or family knowing she was alive could make things complicated.

"You must have me confused with someone else." She said, lowering her voice in an attempt to mask her identity.

"Ruby, I know it's been a while, but it hurts to know you don't even recognize me."

Ruby lifted the rim of her hood, letting a silver eye shine out as she took a look at who the newcomer was. She pulled the hood down when she was it was Yang, a slight blush of embarrassment spread across her face as she realized how silly she must have sounded.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the ceremony?" Ruby asked, anxious to know why Yang wasn't where she was supposed to be.

"Your team, decided it wouldn't be right to go without you. So we decided to throw a party here instead." She flashed Ruby a winning smile as she adjusted the sunglasses over her eyes.

"Yang, you know I'm not supposed to be on Patch, or anywhere where someone could see me. I had to beg Ozpin just to let me come visit mom." The professionalist instincts Ozpin had drilled into her starting to show themselves.

"You think we would throw a party and not invite him too?" Yang commented, stepping up to Ruby and throwing an arm over her shoulder.

"Ozpin is coming too?" Ruby stated with a slight amount of fear. Ozpin was a nice instructor, and helped her a lot with all the different kinds of strife that have afflicted her in one form or another, but when it came to the risk of vampires becoming public knowledge he put his foot down hard on the matter.

"Yep, once he finishes with the ceremony and other pleasantries." Yang started walking away from the gravestone with Ruby still in her arm. They only took three steps before Yang grinned and started to rub her knuckles playfully on her sister's head.

"You're still so short! It's just so adorable!" Yang laughed, while Ruby struggled to free herself.

"You haven't grown in these past few years either!" Ruby lashed out, kicking and squirming in her attempt to get away from her sister.

Yang stopped her assault on her sister, but continued to laugh as Ruby tried to pry her arm off her neck.

"I guess it's just side effect of becoming a vampire. I'm sure there is something about it in that big 'master tome' Ozpin always has you reading." She could see Ruby was starting to get agitated, and decided to let Ruby go before her joke ran for too long.

"Come on. Dad and Uncle Qrow are excited to see you again, and the others are already waiting." She commented, continuing to walk along, throwing her hands into her new jacket's pockets. Ruby nodded and started to follow, but stopped after a few steps.

"Wait!" She called before turning around and sprinting to the grave behind them. Ruby fell to her knees and quickly threw her arms around the stone in a form of hug. She remained there for a moment, until after a bit she felt better inside and released the stone. A small, genuine smile starting to form on her face as she started to stand up.

"I'll visit again soon, mom. I promise it won't be as long as last time."

She stood and ran back over to Yang, who was standing patiently for her. She slowed to her sister's pace at her side as they made their way back to the home she hadn't seen in several years.

"Will there be cake? Is it Strawberry Cookie Crumble?" She inquired her sister as they walked through the meadow.

"Yours is, everyone is getting their own cake. Try not to eat all yours in one go, they are really big, and very expensive, so we don't want you throwing it up an hour after putting it down."

"Yeah!" Ruby shouted, visibly jumping for joy as she walked alongside her sister. Their path was illuminated by the glowing sun, and the grey clouds overhead continued to scatter.

* * *

Author's Note:

And thus it ends. If you've readto the end, why not review? Final thoughts are always appreciated. And of course, many thanks to the illustrious Leivve for the help not only on this chapter, but everything past the first one.


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